Observations on the Inhabitants, Climate, Soil, Rivers, Productions
Item #61960
BARTRAM, John and KALM, Peter. Observations on the Inhabitants, Climate, Soil, Rivers, Productions, Animals, and Other Matters Worthy of Notice. Made by Mr. John Bartram, in His Travels from Pensilvania to Onondago, Oswego and the Lake Ontario, in Canada. To Which Is Annex'd, a Curious Account of the Cataracts at Niagara. By Mr. Peter Kalm, a Swedish Gentleman Who Travelled There. London: Printed for J. Whiston and B. White, 1751. 1st ed. [2],94 pp. Folding plan frontis. Rebound in period-style calf, gilt-ruled spine. Very old waterstaining to margins, else very good. HOWES B-222, "b". Church 977. Field 92. Lane S148. Wroth, An American Bookshelf 1755, pp. 101-105, 149-151. Larson 321. TPL 186. Meisel III, p. 345. Sabin 3868. The journal of the eminent American naturalist John Bartram, kept during his trip from 3 July to 19 August 1743, through Pennsylvania and into the Indian country of New York as far as Oswego and Lake George, in the company of cartographer Lewis Evans and interpreter Conrad Weiser, to hold a conference with the Iroquois Indians. The journal contains descriptions of the country and detailed observations of aboriginal life. There is also a plan of an Iroquois long house on the folding plan of Fort Oswego. Besides this journal, the text includes a letter to Bartram from the Swedish naturalist and traveler Peter Kalm describing Niagara. Bartram's international fame rested on his extensive correspondence with leading European scientists, and it was through his contact with the British naturalist Peter Collinson that this journal came to be published, sent to the press by Collinson without Bartram's knowledge. Bartram was surprised and somewhat annoyed with his British friend when he was sent a copy of the book, since he had wanted to expand on his original diary before publication. A rare and important work.
Price: $10,000.00