Paris, Ponce, n.d. [around 1783].
Large 4to of 16 engraved plates, old red full morocco, triple gilt fillet around the covers, ribbed spine richly decorated, gilet inner border, gilt edges. Binding signed Zaehnsdorf, England.
202 x 224 mm.
Original first edition and first issue of this complete suite of 16 engraved plates tracing the origins and key events of the American Revolution.
Sabin, n°68421; Cohen, 490; Howes, C-576; Winsor, VI, p. 185.
Recorded here are some of the major events of the War and of the larger global conflict between Great Britain and France, including the tarring and feathering of John Malcom at Boston, the battle of Lexington, the capitulation of Burgoyne at Saratoga, the capture of Dominica, Senegal, Grenada, Pensacola, and Tobago, the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, the battle of St. Eustache, the siege of Fort S.Philippe, and the attack on Brimstomhill.
There is also a general map of the United States and a composite map of the Gulf of Mexico, Barbary, Minorca, and Tobago.
Below each view, forming part of the engraved surface is brief explanatory text by Niquet.
The engraved title contains a précis of the War, surmounted by five inset views of military and naval engagements, while the final plate, decorated with four similar insets, gives a précis of the Treaty of Versailles in 1783 and a list of the principal officers killed or wounded in the war.
Howes describes this as the first French book with a title-page mentioning the United States.
This extraordinary work on the War of Independence of the United States of America is composed of beautiful frescoes (180 x 235 mm) engraved by Ponce, Godefroy, Le Barbier, Marillier… illustrating the major events of the American Revolution:
– Engraved title with five vignettes of naval and land battles, including La défaite anglaise en Louisiane et la prise du Fort de la Mobile le 14 mars 1780.
– John Malcom ou les Origines de la Révolution Américaine.
– Journée de Lexington.
– Sarratoga, le 17 novembre 1777.
– Prise de la Dominique.
– Prise du Sénégal.
– Prise de l’isle de La Grenade.
– Prise de Pensacola le 9 mai 1781.
– Prise de Tabago.
– Reddition de l’armée de Lord Cornwallis.
– Surprise de St Eustache.
– Siège du Fort S. Philippe le 4 février 1782.
– Attaque de Brimstomhill.
– Carte des Etats-Unis.
– Cartes particulières.
– Précis du Traité de Paix.
This is the only contemporary work on the subject published in France, and the first French work to mention the United States on its title page.
“This beautiful series of plates is often cited as the first French book on the “United States” since it used that name in the title. This work was of great influence in creating the iconographic model for the new democracy”.
A superb copy of the utmost rarity, whose 16 engraved plates have been delicately contemporary hand-colored.
Our research has enabled us to find trace of only one other contemporary colored copy that has come onto the market since the beginning of the surveys, in June 2013, 11 years ago. « The first French book with a title-page
mentioning the United States » (Howes).
