LONG, John (fl. 1768-1791). Voyages and Travels of an Indian Interpreter and Trader, Describing the Manners and Customs of the North American Indians; with an Account of the Posts Situated on the River Saint Laurence, Lake Ontario, &c. To Which is Added, a Vocabulary of the Chippeway Language. Names of Furs and Skins, in English and French. A List of Words in the Iroquois, Mohegan, Shawanee, and Esquimeaux Tongues, and a Table, Shewing the Analogy between the Algonkin and Chippeway Languages. London: Printed for the Author, and sold by Robson et al, 1791. Lot 316

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LONG, John. Voyages and Travels of an Indian Interpreter and Trader. Lond., 1791. FIRST EDITION.

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Lot Description

LONG, John (fl. 1768-1791). Voyages and Travels of an Indian Interpreter and Trader, Describing the Manners and Customs of the North American Indians; with an Account of the Posts Situated on the River Saint Laurence, Lake Ontario, &c. To Which is Added, a Vocabulary of the Chippeway Language. Names of Furs and Skins, in English and French. A List of Words in the Iroquois, Mohegan, Shawanee, and Esquimeaux Tongues, and a Table, Shewing the Analogy between the Algonkin and Chippeway Languages. London: Printed for the Author, and sold by Robson et al, 1791.

4to (267 x 210 mm). Folding engraved map "Sketch of the Western Countries of Canada" bound after the errata leaf. (Some offsetting to map, title-page with some marginal browning and with a small erasure.) Modern half morocco, contemporary marbled boards. Provenance: armorial bookplate on endpapers.

"THE MOST VALUABLE RECORD OF INDIAN LIFE AND THE FUR TRADE OF THE PERIOD" (Vail).

FIRST EDITION. Long was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company for nineteen years beginning in 1768. During his tenure, he traveled extensively among the Indigenous peoples of Canada, acquiring a comprehensive and intimate understanding of their character, customs, and domestic life. "His is a graphic record of Indian life and customs and of conditions in the fur trade during the furious competition of the Montreal traders among themselves and with the Hudson's Bay Co." (Staton & Tremaine/TPL 597). The map is of the entire Great Lakes region, north to James Bay, dated 1791. Ayer, Indian Linguistics 28, Chippewa 128 and 150; Field 946; Graff 2527; Howes L-443; Sabin 41878; Staton & Tremaine/TPL 597; Streeter Sale VI:3651; Vail 878; Waterston, p.18.

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