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Americana 109: The Last Word



 
 
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Old January 25th 04, 04:04 AM
Jerry Morris
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Default Americana 109: The Last Word

I am a sucker for bibliographical challenges. This last one really
wasn't that hard to solve, and it didn't cost too much either; but it
sure is goinng to take a long time to tell you about my research into
this book though!

I have it in front of me now, a book bound in period binding (late
1700s), with leather on the spine and corners, and light blue paper
boards that are just a bit soiled with age. There is no lettering on
the spine. In fact, there is no title page. Pages i through iv of the
xvi pages of the Introduction are missing as well.

On the ffep are the following notes:

First American Edition 1783 Pages v--226.
Howes C783
Ca 1990 $3.00 C Tax Paid 1990 Tax Return.

"A ReplyTo Sir Henry Clinton's Narrative Wherein...Errors Are Pointed
Out And The Conduct Of Lord Cornwallis Fully Vindicated."


One of my favorite ebay sellers listed this book, with a starting bid
of $9.99, without a reserve, and with the missing pages noted (see ebay
item number 3579662313).

I did a quick check of the value of this book at abebooks. There were
two London second editions, also published in 1783, listed for $300 and
$594.64 respectively.

Already, I was thinking of getting photocopies made of the missing
pages.
The William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan had
purchased the papers of Sir Henry Clinton in 1925. This collection is
known as the Headquarters Papers of the British Army During the American
Revolution. The collection includes the books and pamphlets of the
Clinton-Cornwallis Controversy. Some of these books contain marginalia
from the hand of Sir Henry Clinton. Photocopies would, of course, be
made from other copies of the book.

I had to do a little more homework before bidding though. I got my
Geoscope 30X magnifier out and read the listing of this book in my
Readex Microprint set of Sabin's Dictionary of Books Relating To
America. Something was not right! Sabin 16814 stated that this book
contained 109 pages? The seller stated that the book up for auction
contained 226 pages of text. Just to be sure, I checked U.S. IANA, the
bibliography compiled by Wright Howes. Howes C783 called for109 pages
as well.

Clearly, this book was not what the ebay seller said it was. It did
contain the correspondence between Clinton and Cornwallis, but it had
too many pages to be A Reply To Sir Henry.... I checked U.S. IANA
again. There were two possibilities, C781 and C493.

C781
Cornwallis, Earl.

An answer to that part of the narrative of Lieutenant-General Sir
Henry Clinton, which relates to the conduct of Lieutenant-General Earl
Cornwallis. L.1783. O (24) 260 errata slip fold.tab atp236 +4adv-p aa
--ed.2 L 1783. O a
-Am ed Phil 1866. O (12) 260

C493
Clinton (Sir Henry) and Cornwallis (Earl).

Correspondence between: [N.Y. 1781]. O 76 [4] a
--Eng. ed. [L.1783].

Translation: An answer..... was published in London in 1783. Octavo. 24
introductory pages. 260 text pages, with an errata slip at page 236. A
second edition was also published in London in 1783. The First American
edition wasn't published until 1866.

Translation: Correspondence between.... was first published in NewYork
in 1781 in octavo and contained 76 pages of text with four other pages.
The English edition wasn't published until 1783.

The book up for auction was not Correspondence..... That book only
contained 76 pages.

If the book up for auction was An Answer.... then either the "226" was
a typo, or there were 39 pages missing at the end of the book. The book
definiitely was not the 1866 edition because the "long ess" was used in
the printing.

Something else didn't fit right either. Howes C781 said there were 24
prelim pages in An Answer..., yet the seller clearly stated that his
book should have had 16 pages in the Introduction. I went back to Sabin
again.

Sabin 16811
Cornwallis (C) An Answer to that part of the Narrative Of
Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton, K. B which relates to the conduct
of Lieutenant-General Earl Cornwallis, during The Campaign In North
America, In The Year, 1781. By Earl Cornwallis. London: J. Debrett
M.DCCLXXXIII 8vo Title pp xvi (6) 260 errata: 8 lines folded sheet
at p236. .......

The total number of prelim pages did not add up, but Sabin 16811
verified that there were xvi introductory pages. Moreover, an image of
the errata sheet that the seller provided in his listing showed 8 lines
of errata. I was almost certain that the book was An Answer...... I was
also almost certain that the book was missing 39 additional pages that
the seller didn't know about.

I went to abebooks and checked the prices of this book. There were
seven copies of the 1783 edition of this book listed, ranging from $600
to $1075.

I decided to snipe the auction with the intention of getting photocopies
made of all the missing pages if I won. I won the auction for $31.00!

After the auction was over, I notified the seller of my suspicions and
asked him to verify that the page count was correct. He confirmed that
there were only 226 pages. I stressed that I still wanted the book, and
would let him know if my research was correct when the book arrived.

When the book arrived, I opened it to the very last page. The last word
on the page provided clearcut proof that the book was incomplete. The
word was "NUM-." It was a catchword. Publishers inserted catchwords
at the end of each page to assist printers and bookbinders in arranging
the pages correctly. The catchword, "NUM-" was the first word of the
next page that was published, page 227.

The book itself had been rebound sometime in the 1800s. There was no
evidence in the binding that pages were missing. In 1990, a bookseller
paid California taxes on the book and incorrectly identified the title.

I notified the seller of my findings. He offered me a full discount
including shipment both ways. I thanked him for the offer, but
respectfully declined. I'm keeping the book. I'm also getting
photocopies made of all the missing pages.

Jerry Morris
Americana 109: The Last Word





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