BIRKBECK, Morris Notes on a journey in America, from the coast of Virginia to the territory of Illinois. London: Severn & Co., for James Ridgeway, 1818
8vo., 163, [5] pp., including 4 pages publisher's advertisements.
With a large folding engraved map, hand-coloured in outline. Contemporary boards, rebacked in cloth; light offset from map to title page, the map mended on a few folds, a few small insignificant spots to text, mainly on the end-papers. Generally an excellent copy, uncut. Early signature of Wm. Payne, Oak Park, Illinois, and ownership inscription of American physician and surgeon Ralph R. Ritzman. , First printed in 1817, this third edition is enlarged and augmented with eighteen additional pages. It describes Birkbeck's journey, undertaken with Englishman George Flower (1788-1862), from England out to the huge tract of land (16,000 acres) which he had purchased in Illinois. On his way he passed through Washington, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and numerous other locales. A valuable glimpse into the life and customs of the time, Birkbeck describes the towns, scenery, and people, even detailing their various occupations and wages. In addition, it includes frank and often unflattering remarks on the habits and manners of the early settlers. He ultimately completes his successful journey, taking up settlement on 26,400 acres of public land, founding Albion, Illinois. Birkbeck (1764-1825) was a leading agriculturalist in England. A Quaker, he emigrated to America, leaving behind a church and government of which he disapproved. It was thanks to Birkbeck's Notes on a journey in America and Letters from Illinois, numerous European settlers made the journey to settle the plains of the Mid-West. It was so popular that it was published in Philadelphia, London, Dublin, and Cork, ran through eleven editions in English in two years, and appeared in German at Jena (1818). According to Sabin, this is one of the most interesting and instructive books that have appeared for many years.
$US1500
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