AMERICA DURING THE REVOLUTION. [ANBUREY, THOMAS. FL. LATE 18TH CENTURY.] Travels Through th...

AMERICA DURING THE REVOLUTION. [ANBUREY, THOMAS. FL. LATE 18TH CENTURY.] Travels Through the Interior Parts of America in a Series of Letters. London: William Lane, 1789. 2 volumes. 8vo (210 x 125 mm). Half-titles, list of subscribers, folding engraved map, 6 engraved plates (5 folding), 2 leaves of engraved currency facsimiles printed in black and red. Rebacked contemporary tree calf, retaining original spines laid down. Bumps and chips to covers, tear to folding map with repair on verso, some offsetting, scattered spotting and a few ink notations. FIRST EDITION, including 'handsome plates of Revolutionary America' (Reese). Anburey (sometimes Anbury or Hanbury) served under General Burgoyne, and was taken prisoner in the Battle of Saratoga in 1781. He published this work after being repatriated to his native Ireland; a second edition followed in 1791. Even at its first appearance, the work raised some doubts about its authenticity. In a 1943 study, American historian Whitfield Bell identified numerous plagiarized passages from earlier works by the Marquis de Chastellux, Peter Kalm, Jonathan Carver, Samuel Peters, and others. While some of the content may have been drawn from the author's first-hand experience, it seems to occupy a grey area between historical fact and historical fiction. Howes A-226 ('aa'); Reese Revolutionary Hundred 88; Sabin 1366. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing