History and General Description of New France
New York: Francis P. Harper, 1900.
Hardcover. Near fine. Limited edition, set #179 of 750. Six volumes in original publisher's red cloth: pp xiv + 286; iv + 284; v + 312; vii + 308; ix + 311; ix + 256, with 18 maps, 15 plates, and four facsimiles; bibliography, index. Small spot on spine of Volume III, small ink stamp of previous owner in each volume; near fine. In 1719, Charlevoix (1682-1761), a French Jesuit, was sent to Canada on a double mission: to make recommendations concerning the borders of Acadia, which had been an ongoing dispute between England and France since the Treaty of Utrecht (1713); and to inquire into the geographical position of the Western Sea. After arriving in Quebec City in September 1720, Charlevoix visited the Great Lakes, traveled down the Mississippi to Louisiana, survived shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico, and visited the island of Santo Domingo. Returning home, he began writing this landmark work, which covers the period from the first discoveries in North America to 1731, drawing on the French state archives and his own travel journal. The first edition, in French, was published in Paris in 1744. The work remained untranslated until John Gilmary Shea (1824-1892) published the first English translation and the first American edition in 1866-1872 in an edition of 250 copies. This is the second American edition.
Item #22966
Price: $500.00