Andre's Journal. An Authentic Record of the Movements and Engagements

ANDRE, John. LODGE, Henry Cabot, ed. Andre's Journal. An Authentic Record of the Movements and Engagements of the British Army in America from June 1777 to November 1778 as Recorded from Day to Day by Major John Andre. Boston: Issued by the Bibliophile Society for Members Only, 1903. 2 vols. 4tos. Illus. with engraved title pages, facsimiles, 38 maps. With prospectus laid in. Orig. gilt-decorated vellum, t.e.g. A fine set in publisher's slipcases. Howes A-239. First printing of the journal, limited to 467 sets (an additional special 21 copies printed for presentation). The manuscript of Major John Andre's journal went unnoticed and unpublished until it was discovered in 1902 at the home of Earl Grey, descendant of the Earl Grey who was the commanding officer of Andre during the early phase of the American Revolutionary War. Andre was hanged as a spy in 1780. Great excitement was stirred up by the discovery of the manuscript, and the Bibliophile Society printed it at the end of 1903. As the 15pp. prospectus included here explains, "many urgent requests for copies. have been received from historical Societies, libraries, and collectors, but all applicants have been informed that none will be printed except for members; the only exception being one copy for President Roosevelt." This prospectus, dated 6 November 1903, is complete with the return slip for orders, and it is a rare survival: we can find only two mentions of the prospectus in auction records.…