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

The bulk of this letter was published under the title “Views of an Intelligent Emigrant” in the journal African Repository, May 1866, pages 149-152. Two substantial passages from the letter were left out from the published version, though—both of them being passages which reflected poorly on the situation in Liberia: “Upon our arrival, we found the people suffering some inconvenience from a scarcity of provisions caused by an interruption of trade, in consequence of the Annunciation. The arrival of the Thomas Pope was very opportune, and Capt. Alexander was hailed as a great deliverer!” Also left out of the published account was a postscript: “My family and myself are still under the influence of a fever. Therefore I have seen but little, and can say no more at present. In my next, I will speak of the government and people, and . . . endeavor to give such information as will be interesting, useful and instructive to the American people.” Certainly, the editors did not want to create an impression that emigrants would be greeted by starvation and disease. Also notable is a one-word change which may be incidental, or may be somewhat disturbing. Johnson signed this original letter as “Your humble friend.” It was set into type in the African Repository as “Your humble servant.” Johnson went on to serve as Attorney General of Liberia from 1869 to 1871, was ousted in a coup, and ran a coffee plantation there until his death in 1884. A two-part article on him by Preston E. Pierce, “Liberian Dreams, West African Nightmare: The Life of Henry W. Johnson,” ran in the journal Rochester History in 2004 and 2005. 3 c   (AMERICAN INDIANS.) Adair, James. History of the American Indians. Folding map. [12], 464 pages. 4to, modern morocco; minimal wear to contents; with half-title. London, 1775 [1,500/2,500] first edition . “Best 18th century English source on the Southern tribes, written by one who traded forty years with them”—Howes A38 (“b”).“Considered by modern writers to be the leading authority of his day on the Indians of the Southeast”—Clark I:28.Adair’s personal experience was mostly with the Catawba, Cherokee, Muskogee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw, and he devotes a chapter to each. Adair was convinced that the Indians were descended from the Jews. Field 11; Graff 10; Sabin 155;Vail 643 (“one of the first to explore the Alleghenies”). lot 2, continued