LETTERS FROM ILLINOIS. BY MORRIS BIRKBECK, AUTHOR OF "NOTES ON A TOUR THROUGH FRANCE," AND OF "NOTES ON A JOURNEY IN AMERICA," &C. THIRD EDITION.
London: Printed for Taylor and Hessay, 93, Fleet Street, 1818. xv, [1 blank], 114pp. Original half calf and marbled paper over boards [front hinge nearly detaching]. A few light fox spots. Overall Very Good; text Near Fine.
Three London editions and a Philadelphia edition were printed in 1818. The XXII Letters, dedicated at the end to "John Gale, Esq., Stert, Near Devizes, Old England," contain "a great deal of information about social and economic conditions in Illinois" [Graff 303]. "The author, an English Utopian, bought 16,000 acres on English Prairie, Ill., in 1817 and founded the town of New Albion, which was settled by English emigrants" [III Soliday 223].
"The volume consists of letters written to persons in England, in reply to questions relative to economic and social conditions in the West. It is an intelligent, discriminating statement by a foreigner who soon came to understand his adopted country, and did much to inspire and wisely direct English emigration into Illinois" [Larned 1759: Philadelphia edition].
Howes B467. Sabin 5566. Graff 303 [Phila. ed]. Item #40621
Price: $250.00