The Englishwoman in America.
by BIRD, Isabella
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
London, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: John Murray,, 1856. Travellers are privileged to do the most improper things First edition of the author's first book. This is a candid account of a visit to Canada and North America in 1854 by "the most notable woman traveller of her time" (ODNB). Isabella Bird's (1831-1904) scarce book, written under the decorous guise of anonymity, is a discursive and personal observation of the people and culture she encountered. "There is a surprising familiarity about several of her comments as a European seeing the American continent for the first time. Men were uncomplainingly chivalrous; hotel rooms were unbearably over-heated; ice water was happily ubiquitous; casually met strangers were intimately loquacious - and yet chill; urban women were enviably slim and elegant; masculine yarns were extraordinarily chauvinistic; and everywhere there was the overwhelming sense of heterogeneity, change, and impermanence, a fascination with the wealth and promise of the future" (Barr). Upon her return to England, she relived her travels in writing. Her manuscript was shown to John Murray, who at once recognized its merits, and thus began the friendship between Isabella and her publisher. Bird was "the archetypal Victorian Lady Traveller", and struggled throughout her life with "a debilitating spinal complaint, depression, and acute insomnia" (ibid.); however, these afflictions did not prevent her from travelling. She visited the United States and Canada in 1854 and 1857 and later toured the western highlands of Scotland. After her mother died in 1868 and her sister Henrietta decided to settle on the island of Mull, she decided to travel again, and in 1872 she sailed for New Zealand, Australia, and the Sandwich Islands. Her obituary in The Guardian considered the present account "in some respects
the best of her works, for both country and people and people, are full of interest and variety, and her journey included a visit to some of the little-known Christian settlements in Syria, whose archaic ceremonies and curious way of living she sympathetically describes". Provenance: armorial bookplate on the front pastedown of John Murray of Touchadam, Stirlingshire. This is likely John Murray (1797-1862), or his son, Lieutenant-Colonel John Murray (1831-1877). Octavo. Original light purple cloth, spine lettered in gilt, pale pink surface-paper endpapers, edges uncut. 32 pp. author's advertisements at end. Bookseller's ticket of R. Grant & Son, Edinburgh on front pastedown. Neat repairs to spine, corners, and inner hinges, spine and edges of boards sunned, minor damp staining to edges of prelims and endmatter, scattered foxing. A very good copy of a book that rarely survives in collectible condition. Robinson, pp. 81-2; Theakstone, pp. 35-6. Pat Barr, A Curious Life for a Lady: The Story of Isabella Bird, 2015, available online.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Peter Harrington (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 168520
- Title
- The Englishwoman in America.
- Author
- BIRD, Isabella
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Place of Publication
- London: John Murray,
- Date Published
- 1856
Terms of Sale
Peter Harrington
All major credit cards are accepted. Both UK pounds and US dollars (exchange rate to be agreed) accepted. Books may be returned within 14 days of receipt for any reason, please notify first of returned goods.
About the Seller
Peter Harrington
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Peter Harrington
Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Sunned
- Damage done to a book cover or dust jacket caused by exposure to direct sunlight. Very strong fluorescent light can cause slight...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...