[SMITH, William].

Etat Present De La Pensilvanie, Ou L'on Trouve Le Detail De Ce Qui

Item #45892

[SMITH, William]. Etat Present De La Pensilvanie, Ou L'on Trouve Le Detail De Ce Qui S'Y Est Passe Depuis La Defaite Du General Braddock Jusqu'a La Prise D'Oswego, Avec Une Carte Particuliere De Cette Colonie. [Paris]. 1756. 128pp. plus folding map. Half antique calf and marbled boards, leather label. Tear to final leaf of text expertly repaired, with no loss. Else about fine. SABIN 19370. STREETER SALE 960. HOWES P216. VAIL 516 (note). Sabin and Howes attribute this translation to Abbe Jean Ignace de la Ville, the first commissioner to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Contained in the work is an abridgement of William Smith's A BRIEF VIEW OF THE CONDUCT OF PENNSYLVANIA, FOR THE YEAR 1755..., in French, published the same year as the first separate edition. One of the most important works relating to the state of affairs between the Popular Party and the Proprietary Party at the time, Smith attacks the Quakers and the Popular Party. "This book...was evidently designed to make the French people happy over the course of the struggle with the English in North America. It abridges Smith's BRIEF VIEW with its portrayal of the helplessness of Pennsylvania in repulsing Indian atrocities. It must have made good reading in France, especially because of the abbreviated and pungent way it was rewritten" - Streeter. De La Ville has added to this edition some further remarks entitled "Relation contenant la suite de ce qui s'est passe en Pensilvanie," as well as a translation of an act establishing a Pennsylvania militia and a brief description of Pennsylvania, illustrated with the attractive map.

Price: $1,750.00