AN AFFECTING NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY & SUFFERINGS OF MRS. MARY SMITH, WHO, WITH HER HUSBAND AND THREE DAUGHTERS WERE TAKEN PRISONERS BY THE INDIANS IN AUGUST LAST (1814) AND...WAS FORTUNATELY RESCUED FROM THE MERCILESS HANDS OF SAVAGES BY A DETACHED PA
Smith, Mary:
Providence: Printed for L. Scott, [1816?]. 24pp. Folding woodcut frontispiece with light contemporary coloring (now somewhat oxidized). Original plain wrappers, resewn. Leaves tanned, some staining on frontispiece. Scattered foxing. Still a fresh, very good copy in original state, untrimmed. In a cloth clamshell case, leather label. The Littell copy, with his book label. Mrs. Smith and her family were taken captive by the Chickasaws near the Yazoo in 1814. Her husband was used for tomahawk throwing practice and her three daughters were burned in front of her. She was saved from a similar fate by the raid of a company of Tennessee troops. This captivity tale was first published in Providence in 1815. The narrative was apparently a bestseller for its day, as at least seven editions appeared by 1818, all of which are rare today. The printer, Scott, produced several twenty-four-page and thirty-two-page editions with a new woodcut frontispiece and variant titlepages; some include the text about the murder of thirty people after Mrs. Smith escaped. The present edition was printed after Jackson's defeat of the British at the Battle of New Orleans on Jan. 8, 1815, as reflected in the title. Very rare. Sabin cites only two copies, of which one is imperfect. This is probably the only copy to trade in the 20th century. Not in Ayer. HOWES S638, "b." SABIN 83539.
(Item ID: WRCAM27071) $15,000.00