Rich E E Editor and Introduction (3 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition. No. 360 of 550 copies. Original publisher's red cloth binding with gilt lettering on spine. Top edge gilt. Several leaves unopened. 7 1/2" x 10." Pages cxxxi, [1]-372, complete. One black-and-white frontisepiece, complete. Introduction in front. Appendix A: Biographical, Appendix B: Supplementary Letters and Documents, and Index in back. Thirteen additional pages in back show the names of Champlain Society officers and members, subscribing libraries, and other Champlain Society publications. Pages are virtually pristine and intact except for light age toning and slight wear to extremities. Covers are virtually pristine and intact except for slight darkening, faint marks on front and back, and slight wear to extremities. A Fine copy. This is No. II in the Hudson's Bay Company Series, a subset within The Publications of the Champlain Society series. Edited with an Introduction by E. E. Rich. Rich was assisted by R. Harvey Fleming. This volume contains a transcription of Colin Robertson's letters dating from September 1, 1817-September 1822. Transcriptions of many supplementary letters and documents are also included. Colin Robertson (1783-1842) was a Scottish-Canadian fur trader and politician. He worked for both Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company who were fierce rivals in the fur trading industry. Robertson's letters offer an insider's look at both companies and their day-to-day activities. Given the dates of his letters, they also provide invaluable historical context behind the merger of HBC and North West Company in 1821. He worked for HBC until 1840 when he retired from the industry. Robertson also served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Two Mountains from 1841 until his passing in 1842. Front colophon: "Five Hundred and Fifty Copies of this Volume have been printed. Fifty are reserved for Editorial purposes. The remaining Five Hundred are supplied only to Members of the Society and to Subscribing Libraries. This copy is No. 360.".

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. First Edition. No. 356 of 550 copies. Original publisher's red cloth binding with gilt lettering on spine. Top edge gilt. Several leaves unopened. 7" x 9 3/4." Pages cv, [5], 6-352, complete. Nineteen black-and-white illustrations, complete. List of Illustrations and Introduction in front. Appendix A: James Isham's Journal, 1746-47; Appendix B: Indian; Appendix C: Biographical; and Index in back. Fifteen additional pages in back show the names of Champlain Society officers and members, subscribing libraries, and other Champlain Society publications. Former owner's black-and-white bookplate tipped in on front pastedown: "Vigilans et Avdax; Sir James Dunn, Bart., Q.C., LL.D., 1874-1956." Pages are virtually pristine and intact except for light age toning, slight wear to extremities, and the former owner's bookplate. Covers are very clean and intact overall except for a small mark on back, slight residue on spine, and slight wear to extremities. A Very Good copy. This is No. XII in the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) Series, a subset in The Publications of the Champlain Society series. Edited with an Introduction by E. E. Rich who was assisted by A. M. Johnson. This volume contains the transcription of an autobiographical account by James Isham (1716-1761), an Anglo-Canadian chief factor (master) who worked for Hudson's Bay Company at York Fort and Fort Prince of Wales. Isham provides one of the most comprehensive accounts of the Canadian frontier and HBC's activities during the eighteenth century. In 1732, Isham was sent to York Fort when he was 16 years old to work as a clerk or bookkeeper. As a clerk, he was commended for his sobriety and upstanding character by the master of the fort and eventually worked his way up to chief factor himself. Isham's account is filled with a wealth of information about various aspects of Canadian frontier life. He also drew a few sketches to accompany his writings. His account begins with a brief dictionary of English words and phrases and their phonetic translations in Cree. According to Rich, this period in Canadian history was marked by relatively amicable relations between European traders and Indigenous communities based on transactional peace. Isham describes many of the cultural customs of the Cree and other Indigenous tribes. He also describes several Canadian species of birds and other animals. There is also brief description of beaver-hunting methods. Notably, Isham was in charge of both Fort Prince of Wales and York Factory in two separate occasions where exploratory ships trying to find the Northwest Passage had to overwinter at the forts. Each time, this caused great contention between Isham and the captains of the ships. In the latter instance, at York Factory, the crew of one of the ships published an account critical of Isham and HBC. Appended to Isham's main account is his rebuttal to the crew's assertions they made against him and HBC in Henry Ellis's A Voyage to Hudsons Bay in the Dobbs Galley. Front colophon: "Five Hundred and Fifty Copies of this Volume have been printed. Fifty are reserved for Editorial purposes. The remaining Five Hundred are supplied only to Members of the Society and to Subscribing Libraries. This copy is No. 356.".

Hardcover. Three maps (2 folding), plates (illustrator). pp. cvi, 401. Royal 8vo. Blue cloth boards slightly scuffed, some pages uncut, near fine condition. Volume XVI of a limited edition, designated copy 1368, and issued only to subscribers to The Hudson's Bay Record Society.