RARE 1703 1st Lahontan 3v Voyages America w Maps Prints Fine binding Start Price USD 3,272.50 Current Price USD 3,272.50 Time Left 12 days 16 hours 4 minutes Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, October 23, 2008 End Time Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Location Rochester, NY See more about 'RARE 1703 1st Lahontan 3v Voyages America w Maps Prints' Description VERY RARE Book Set   True First Edition   of   New Voyages to North America ...     by Baron Lahontan   1703   3 volumes in 2       For offer a very rare book set! Only one available on the market elsewhere, priced at $11,700! My price is much more reasonable! Fresh from a prominent estate in Upstate, Rochester, NY. Vintage, Old, Original - NOT a Reproduction - Guaranteed !! Title page reads (in French): Nouveaux Voyages de Mr. le Baron de Lahontan; dans l'Amerique Septentrionale Qui contiennent une Relation des différens Peuples qui yhabitent; la nature de leur Gouvernement; leur Commerce, leurs Coutumes,leur Religion, & leur maniere de faire la Guerre. L'interêt des François &des Anglais dans le Commerce qu'ils sont avec dces Nations, l'avantage quel'Angleterre peut retirer dans ce Païs, étant en Guerre avec la France. a la Haye [The Hague]: Chez les Freres L Honoré, 1703. 3 volumes in 2. Volume 1: [26], 279; volume 2: 220, [16 table] pages; volume 3: 2 large folding maps. Numerous Print plates throughout! First edition. Howes L25, Sabin 38644 (In French). First two volumes bound in one, and the second companion volume (which contains 2 folding maps) in another. The first two volumes are completely original, and complete, with all plates and maps. The 3rd volume is complete (with 2 folding maps) but is a facsimile. Binding circa 1930's, (2 text vols in1) in Full Calf, second physical volume (3rd in the set) in 3/4 full calf & slate blue/tan Marbled Boards. New endpages, Gilt dec embossed raised spine bands on both. The last volume with large fold-out maps, circa 1930's, has "rare books division NY public library" stamps on some reverse sides (where facsims of this volume were made). Very good condition. Both volumes in protective milar dustjackets. No exterior library marks or no endpage library marks to either bindings. The true first edition. Over-all very nice books with lovely striking and detailed plates. Many fold out copper plates; Containing an Account of the Several Nations of that Vast Continent; their Customs, Commerce, and Way of Navigation upon the Lakes and Rivers; the several Attempts of the English and French to dispossess one another; with the Reasons of the Miscarriage of the former; and the various Adventures between the French and the Iroquese ( Iroquois ) Confederates of England, from 1683 to 1694. A Geographical Description of Canada, and a Natural History of the Country.Also a Dialogue between the Author and a General of the Savages, giving a full view of the Religion and Strange Opinions of the Savages: With an account of the Author's Retreat to Portugal, and his Remarks on those Courts. To which is added, A Dictionary of the Algonkine [ Algonquin ] Language, which is generally spoke in North America. See photos below. NOTE: Looks better than shown in photos! If you collect 17th century / 18th century pre colonial Americana, exploration and travel in North America, georgraphy, New York State / Canadian Native American Indian culture, etc., this is a treasure. Add this to your bibliophile library or paper / ephemera collection. Combine shipping on multiple bid wins! insurance is extra, international s/h is more.  No reserve. Good luck bidding.  Click the button to see my other items->->                                       Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce de Lahontan, Baron de Lahontan Louis Armand, Baron de Lahontan (9 June 1666 – prior to 1716) served in the French military in Canada where traveled extensively in the Wisconsin and Minnesota region and the upper Mississippi Valley. Upon his return to Europe he wrote an enormously popular travelogue. In it he embellished his knowledge of the geography of the Great Lakes region and created several fictions. The immense popularity of the book resulted in his distorted cartography being accepted by several eminent cartographers who incorporated the "Lahontan" concepts into most of the maps of the 18th century. He was born into the aristocracy and inherited the title Baron Lahontan upon his father's death in 1674. Through family influence, he joined the French Marine Corps and was sent to New France in 1683. He quickly learned the Indian languages and became adept in wilderness survival. He was sent to command Fort St. Joseph, near the present site of Port Huron, Michigan. He was a restless commander and spent much of his time exploring the region. In 1688 he joined a party of Chippewa Indians in a raid on the Iroquois and later abandoned his fort and went to Michilimackinac. During the following winter he explored the upper Mississippi valley where he allegedly discovered the "Longue River". After several other adventures, including a successful attack on five English frigates in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he eventually deserted the French military and returned to Europe. Deprived of his inheritance and not being able to return to France, he eventually settled in Holland where he found favor with the Elector of Hanover. There he wrote his memoir, in which he embellished his adventures evidently in an attempt to bolster the popular appeal of the book. He invented the tale of the discovery of the "Longue River" that stretched from the Mississippi to a great range of mountains in the west. He depicted a short pass through the mountains from which another river flowed (presumably) into the Pacific. He included accounts of Indian tribes who lived on islands in a great lake near the source of the river, and tales of crocodiles filling the waterways. He also used the book, in the form of a dialogue with an Indian named Adario ("The Rat"), for a controversial attack on what were then the accepted doctrines of Christianity. The story of a large river flowing from the west fired the imagination of his readers, since the early exploration of North America is inextricably linked with the quest for a route to the Orient. The book was an immediate success and became a best seller. Over twenty editions were published between 1703 and 1741, including editions in French, English, Dutch and German. The book was extremely controversial and immediately brought charges from several critics as to the legitimacy of his discoveries. Even so, it was to influence the cartography of North America for the next 100 years. Variations of the "Longue River" were incorporated into the maps of such respected cartographers as Herman Moll, John Senex, Henry Popple, Guillaume de L'Isle, and Henri Abraham Châtelain. The theory was finally laid to rest with the discoveries of Lewis and Clark. Place a Bid!