Essay on the Life of the Honorable Major-General Israel Putnam
Item #78849
HUMPHREYS, David. An Essay on the Life of the Honorable Major-General Israel Putnam: Addressed to the State Society of the Cincinnati in Connecticut. Hartford: Printed by Hudson and Goodwin, 1788. 1st ed. 12mo. 187pp. Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in full red crushed morocco, ruled and lettered in gilt, richly gilt turn-ins, A.e.g. Faint scattered foxing, else very good. Evans 21160. Trumbull 870. Howes H-794. Sabin 33804. Larned 1465. DAB IX, pp.373-75. The Frank C. Deering copy of the scarce first edition of David Humphreys's celebrated and lasting biography of Revolutionary War General Israel Putnam. Humphreys himself performed heroically during the Revolution, and was much beloved by George Washington. The book is still a useful source, containing a storehouse of firsthand anecdotes regarding Putnam's wartime exploits. Humphreys "had a natural talent for military science, and there are few more intelligent contemporary pictures of certain important campaigns, notably the battle of Long Island and the retreat from Harlem, than those contained in his [essay on the life of Putnam]. In this he wrote as he fought, coolly and vigorously, and the book remains a testimonial to Putnam, to the effort and sacrifice of those stirring days, and to Humphreys' own victorious good sense" (DAB). Printed several times well into the 19th century and still in print, this first printing is scarce on the market. A bedrock Revolutionary history.
Price: $3,500.00