History and Present State of Virginia, in Four Parts

[BEVERLEY, Robert]

Publication Date: 1705

About this Item

[BEVERLEY, Robert]. The History and Present State of Virginia, in Four Parts.Bya a Native and Inhabitant of the Place. London: Printed for R. Parker, 1705. [12],16,[4],104,40,64,83pp. plus additional engraved titlepage, folding table, and fourteen plates. Contemporary paneled calf. Neatly rebacked in period style, raised spine bands, red morocco spine label. Early armorial bookplate on front pastedown. Internally clean and fresh, entirely unsophisticated. Very good. In a red morocco-backed slipcase, inner cloth chemise. Church 821. European Americana 705/21. Howes B-410, "b." Field 122. Vail 297. Arents 456. Sabin 5112. Streeter Sale 1098. The first edition of the first history of the Virginia colony written by a native historian, and one of the most reliable and informative accounts of the early period. Beverley covers all aspects of life in Virginia, including produce both natural and cultivated, early plantations, and history up to the time of writing. Beverley was a clerk of the council of Virginia about 1697, when Andros was governor. "After John Smith, the first account of this colony, the first one penned by a native and the best contemporary account of its aboriginal tribes and the life of its early settlers" - Howes. "A valuable firsthand account of conditions, written by a self-consciously American observer of nature, the Indians, political and social life" - Vail. The finely executed plates are based on the engravings found in the first part of Theodor De Bry's GRAND VOYAGES, a volume devoted to Hariot's late sixteenth-century work regarding Virginia. The images are based on the original drawings produced by John White.

Seller Inventory # 79440

Bibliographic Details

• Title: History and Present State of Virginia, in Four Parts
• Publication Date: 1705
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Seller catalogs:
  • SOUTHERN AMERICANA