Sale 2517 - Printed & Manuscript Americana, September 26, 2019

250 c   (BARBADOS.) Ligon, Richard. A True & Exact History of the Island of Barbados. Folding map, 9 plates, folding table. [10], 122, [3] pages. Folio, later 1 / 2 calf over marbled boards, moderate wear, rebacked; moderate dampstaining and wear, several repaired tears, map rehinged with minor restoration and repair along on fold, repairs to banana tree plate in margins (page 82), minimal worming; early gift inscription on second leaf, 1812 owner’s signature on front free endpaper. London: Humphrey Moseley, 1657 [2,000/3,000] first edition of a “classic and indispensable source for any study of Barbadian social history”—Handler, Barbados, page 4. Ligon spent 3 years in Barbados. This work describes sugar production and the island’s natural history at length. It also contains the original source for the tale of Inkle and Yarico, in which an Englishman sells his Indian lover into slavery (pages 54-55). An opera based on the story was written in 1787, and has been revived several times in recent years. Includes the first detailed map of the island, with property owners indicated, and embellished with numerous vignettes of wild boars, armored soldiers, camel drivers, and more. European Americana 657/94; Hough, Lesser Antilles 45; Sabin 41057, 105976n. LATIN AMERICA &THE CARIBBEAN LOTS 250 - 329