Narrative and Critical History of America

Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1889. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 8 vol. Large 8vo. [7], viii-x, [1], ii-xxxvii, [2], 2-470, [4]; [5], vi-ix, [2], ii-ix, [2], 2-640, [2]; [5], viii-xi, [2], 2-578, [2]; [5], vi-ix, [2], ii-xxx, [1], 2-516, [4]; [5], iv-vii, [2], 2-649, [3]; [5], iv-vii, [2], 2-777, [3]; [5], vi-vii, [2], 2-610, [2]; [5], vi-viii, [2], 3-604, [6] pp. Publisher's brown blind-ruled, pebbled cloth with gold lettering on the spines. Grey coated endpapers and pastedowns. Volume one illustrated with a frontispiece and with several in-text engravings; volume two illustrated with one plate, several full-page maps, facsimiles, and many in-text engravings; volume three with a few plates, several in-text and full-page illustrations; volumes four and five with several in-text and full-page maps and illustrations; volume six with a couple plates, several full-page and in-text facsimiles, and engravings; volume seven with several in-text engravings and facsimiles; volume eight with full-page and in-text maps, facsimiles, and engravings. Volume one - Aboriginal America; volume two - Spanish Explorations and Settlements in America from the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Century; volume three - English Explorations and Settlements in North America, 1497-1689; volume four - French Explorations and Settlements in North America and Those of the Portuguese, Dutch, and Swedes 1500-1700; volume five - The English and French in North America 1689-1763; volume six - The United States of North America Part I; volume seven - The United States of North America Part II; volume eight - The Later History of British, Spanish, and Portuguese America. Larned 404. Howes W-578. Howes and Larned have high praise for this set, which is composed of essays from different authors focused on American history. The writings on the sources with Winsor's notes "form an exhaustive and generally critical account of the printed and manuscript sources and of the secondary authorities on American history", according to Larned. Extra postage will be required for this large and heavy set. Several hinges repaired, the boards' edges and some spines show notable rubbing, two volumes with the spine cloth beginning to peel from the backstrip, volume seven's free front endpaper with a large tear. All bindings are secure and the leaves are quite clean.