The Water Witch or the Skimmer of the Seas - photo 1
The Water Witch or the Skimmer of the Seas - photo 2

The Water Witch or the Skimmer of the Seas

Starting price
$ 10 000
Auction dateClassic
15.06.2023 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
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Archive
ID 967563
Lot 22 | The Water Witch or the Skimmer of the Seas
The Water Witch or the Skimmer of the Seas

James Fenimore Cooper, 1830

COOPER, James Fenimore (1789-1851). The Water Witch or The Skimmer of the Seas. Dresden: for Walther, [September] 1830.



Rare true first edition of Cooper's pirate Romance—forbidden by the Pope! Cooper and his family moved to Europe in 1826, where he continued to write his characteristic American tales. This sea story set in Old New York was composed mostly in Italy, and first published in this very small edition in Dresden. Cooper had attempted to have it printed in Rome, but the text—telling the story of the abduction of the vivacious Alida de Barbérie by potentially supernatural pirates led by the mysterious Master Seadrift (who is actually a woman in disguise)—was deemed "wholly unfit" by the Papal censors.



A draft of Cooper's agreement with the printer is held by Dartmouth Library, dated 26 May 1830 and stating that: "The said J. Fenimore Cooper is to receive eight copies of each sheet as it is printed, with the right to send the said sheets to his correspondents or Publishers in those Countries where he may have arrangements to that effect, and he is to receive two complete copies of the work when finished." This type of arrangement, first used by Cooper for The Prairie, was advantageous for copyright reasons; however, The Water Witch was "the only genuine continental first" of all his novels (Spiller and Blackburn). Its official publication in Dresden actually caused some trouble with Cooper's usual German publisher, delaying proceeds. This book, in both its content and its publication history, demonstrates the truly international scope of Cooper's career. BAL 3845; Spiller and Blackburn pp. 6-7 and 62.



Three volumes, 12mo (171 x 102mm). Half titles, colophon leaf in vol. 3 (a little spotting, dampstaining in vol 3). 19th-century quarter morocco and marbled boards (worn at extremities). Provenance: ticket of W&G Foyle – Christie's New York, 21 September 1994, lot 56.

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