Narrative of the Defeat of the French Army at Lake-George

Lot 42
17.01.2024 11:00UTC -05:00
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AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
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ID 1119201
Lot 42 | Narrative of the Defeat of the French Army at Lake-George
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$ 10 000 – 15 000
Narrative of the Defeat of the French Army at Lake-George

Charles Chauncy

CHAUNCY, Charles (1705-1787). A Second Letter to a Friend; Giving a more particular Narrative of the Defeat of the French Army at Lake-George. Boston: Edes and Gill, 1755.



First edition of one of the few contemporary accounts of the Battle of Lake George. Terry copy. The battle is described in nearly blow-by-blow terms, “including an account of the British proficiency with the Mohawk hatchet. He uses the success of the American forces to call for greater British funding of the New England colonies to aid in war” (Reese). "It is of especial interest to New Englanders for the engagement was largely fought with New England troops, among them John Stark, Israel Putnam, and Ephraim Williams, who was killed in the battle, and for whom Williams College was named. Chauncy makes much of the part played by New England in this decisive battle and says that if Great Britain will supply the money, New England will, while 'the Southern Colonies sleep on' and the 'New York government in particular, ingloriously sit still, and do nothing ... soon be able, without assistance from them ... to bring down the pride of the American French, and make them glad to be at peace with us on any terms'" (Streeter). Chauncey's First Letter was also published in 1755 and gave an account of General Braddock's defeat. The letters were published together in London in the same year. Rare: according to RBH, this is one of only three copies to sell at auction since the Streeter sale. Not in Howes, but thought to be even rarer than Chauncy's first letter which Howes ascribes a "c" ("quite rare"). Evans 7382; Sabin 12328; Streeter sale 1007; cf. Reese, Struggle for North America 22.



Small quarto (195 x 110mm). (First several leaves with a little toning near edges, bound close, a couple of letters shaved on B2v.) Early 20th-century red morocco by Macdonald. Provenance: Dr. Roderick Terry (his sale Anderson Galleries, 18 February 1935, lot 76), sold to: – John W. Whiteley, Jr. (bookplate; receipt laid in) – Christie’s New York, 19 May 2011, lot 102 – Ernest E. Keet (bookplate).

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