[French-American Relations]:

$500 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

AMERICAN STATE PAPERS. IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS AND DISPATCHES WHICH ACCOMPANIED THE MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT...RESPECTING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AMERICA AND ... British printing of President John Adams's message to the Congress regarding the so-called "XYZ Affair," in which American envoys to France had had bribes solicited from them by the French Foreign Minister, Talleyrand. Included here are Adams's instructions to Pinckney, Marshall, and Gerry, as well as the American envoys' report on the extortion attempts. The "Genêt Affair," the "XYZ Affair," depredations on American trade, and other actions had put great strain on French-American relations, to the point that an unofficial naval "Quasi-War" existed between the two nations. An important collection of documents on a scandal which no doubt brought the British pleasure and diplomatic advantage. OCLC locates only a handful of physical copies. Rather scarce.

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.