Beschreibung:

The Journal of an Excursion to the United States of North America, in the Summer of 1794.
Salisbury: J. Easton and G. and T. Wilkie, 1796. 8vo (197 x120 mm). Frontispiece engraved silhouette of George Washington, aquatint view of the Statehouse. extra-illustrated with two manuscript folding maps, 4 ink drawings on two sheets and a pencil sketch, each by the author. Contemporary half calf, rebacked and retipped. Condition : foxing and staining. Provenance : Henry Wansey (signature in pencil on the front free endpaper). the author’s own copy, extra-illustrated with manuscript maps and views, including one of the earliest known depictions of the library company building . Wansey, an English wool manufacturer, travelled to America in 1794, arriving in the capital city of Philadelphia via Boston on June 4. Three days later, he visited President George Washington, describing his being “struck with awe and veneration, when I recollected that I was now in the presence of one of the greatest men upon earth.” Wansey gives accurate descriptions of both the people and places in Philadelphia, including one of the final accounts of Benjamin Franklin’s personal library. Wansey’s manuscript illustrations present in this copy include (in order of appearance): 1) a map tracking his voyage from Falmouth to America and his return (facing p. 1) 2) a view of the Newark Meeting House and below it the Boston to Philadelphia stage coach (facing p. 98) 3) a view of the Statehouse and perhaps the study for the aquatint view (facing p. 128) 4) on verso of the preceding, a view of the “Franklin Library,” i.e. the Library Company building on Fifth Street near Chestnut (facing p. 129) 5) a map titled “Map of the course of the Potomac toward the Western Waters” (facing p. 223) 6) an uncaptioned rough pencil sketch of the Government House in New York, i.e. the U. S. Custom House (facing p. 226). The view of the Library Company is among the earliest known, as that building was completed just three years prior to Wansey’s visit. first edition. a unique copy. Howes W86; Sabin 101241.