ID 967406
Lot 210 | Memoirs of Stephen Burroughs
Estimate value
$ 1 000 – 2 000
First edition of "one of the great criminal autobiographies, and an important piece of picaresque Americana" (Streeter). Burroughs was a quintessential rogue: a runaway who deserted from the army, dropped out of college, went to sea, impersonated a ship's physician, impersonated a parson, and escaped from multiple prisons including an island fortress (in one case by setting fire to the prison). He later moved to Canada and became head of a counterfeiting ring before reforming and taking up a post as a youth pastor. This is his story in his own words and, according to Reese, "one of the first such confessional works published in the United States." A continuation was printed in Boston in 1804, and complete sets are rare. Evans 33478; Sabin 9466; Howes B-1022; Streeter sale 724; Reese, Federal Hundred 72.
Octavo (203 x 125mm). (A few paper flaws and tears affecting some letters, foxing and toning, some sheets with faint impressions.) Contemporary mottled calf (joints cracked, some repairs to boards).
| Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 20 Rockefeller Plaza 10020 New York USA | ||||||||||||||
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| Phone | +1 212 636 2000 | ||||||||||||||
| Fax | +1 212 636 4930 | ||||||||||||||
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