Legard, A.B.:

$650 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

COLORADO. An account of the American travels of Englishman Allayne Beaumont Legard, printed for private circulation. Legard's observations on the natural and cultural landscape of the United States are wide-ranging, touching on everything from Colorado's mineral wealth, the arability of the land, and the sheep and cattle ranching industries to the state of American politics, religion, and race relations. In regard to Colorado, Legard writes that while "it is the most barren part of the United States I have seen," it nevertheless "offers greater advantage to the farmer than any part of the country" because of its "enormous" mineral wealth. Graff notes that he is "frank and critical about cattle and sheep ranches in Colorado." As for American culture generally, Legard takes a rather unfavorable view. He criticizes Americans for their "idleness and incivility" and considers "the absence of any national religion" as the "darkest blot in the national character," noting that the "foul language and blasphemy used by the majority of the people in ordinary conversation, is most striking to an Englishman." He laments the "mania for advertising" in America, which leads to "[e]very available thing" being made "to do duty as an advertisement." Spanning the length of his journey, from March to June of 1872, the account provides a record not only of Legard's time in Colorado, but also of his stops in New York City, Cincinnati, Chicago, and Detroit. Legard's opinion of Cincinnati is quite fa

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