De Smet, Pierre Jean:

$3,750 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

WESTERN MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES: A SERIES OF LETTERS.... A presentation copy, inscribed by Father De Smet on the front free endpaper: "Presented to Mrs. Ghebard with profound respect & esteem - P.J. De Smet, SJ." Presentation copies of this book are quite uncommon - this is only the second copy we have handled. This collection of letters was written by Jesuit missionary Pierre-Jean De Smet between 1848-1851 as he travelled among Native American nations including the Assiniboine, the Delaware, the Blackfeet, the Sioux, the Flathead, the Potawatomie and the Osage. This work was originally published in Paris in 1858 as CINQUANTE NOUVELLES LETTRES..., but was not issued in translation for five years due to bankruptcy proceedings that involved the publisher. Evidently the sheets were printed and sat for some time (thus accounting for the 1859 copyright date), and when they were first issued in 1863, they appeared under three different New York imprints with cancel titles. The copy at hand contains the imprint of James B. Kirker. Several of De Smet's journeys receive notable attention here, especially his visit to the Sioux in 1848, and his passage from the Missouri River at Fort Union to Fort Laramie in 1851. Presentation copies of De Smet's writings are rare and desirable.

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