1774 · Philadelphia
by [Duche, Jacob]
Philadelphia: Printed by John Dunlap, 1774. x,241,[1]pp. 12mo. Modern three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Minor foxing and toning. Very good. The "gentleman of foreign extraction" was actually Jacob Duche, a notorious Philadelphia Loyalist, distinguished for having been appointed Chaplain of the Continental Congress and then turning the tables on his fellow revolutionaries by predicting their defeat and urging the recall of the Declaration of Independence. He was cursed as a traitor and took refuge in England in 1777. The letters contained herein relate mostly to describing prominent Philadelphia residents and institutions. The author gives an account of the Quakers, and writes favorably of Philadelphia and of America in general. His ingenious pseudonym, "Tamoc Caspipina," is an acronym derived from his position of "The Assistant Minister of Christ's Church and St. Peter's in Philadelphia in North America." There exists another Philadelphia issue of this work, printed the same year as the present one, by Robert Bell. BRINLEY SALE 3135. HILDEBURN 3008. EVANS 13259. SABIN 21055 (ref). DAB V, pp.476-77.
(Inventory #: WRCAM35113A)