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Bryan Edwards : The History, Civil and Commercial of the British Colonies in the West Indies

John Stockdale, London, 1807

Recent gilt calf with contemporary calf boards, spine with 6 compartments with gilt floral designs, red and green morocco labels and text in 2 and 4, gilt date in 6. Edges are tinted red, and endpapers are marbled. , An excellent set, bound in decorative full calf, maps and plates are clean., 8vo, Volume 1. P. (4), frontis, title, printer’s imprint, dedication, (1), advertisement v-viii, biography ix-xiv, contents xv-xix, (1), list of plates xxi-xxii, plate description xxiii-xxiv, preface xxv-xlviii, 1-576, (5); Volume 2. P. (3), title, printer’s imprint, contents iii-viii, 1-616, (5); Volume 3. P. (3), title, printer’s imprint, half-title, (1), preface iii-xix, advertisement xx-xxv, contents xxvi-xxx, 1-477 (4)., Volume one has 7 plates and 9 maps, Volume two has 3 plates, Volume three has 2 maps and 1 print; all fold-out except the frontispiece. They depict scenery and life in and around the Caribbean., Volume : Three

Sabin 21901: “The plates are by Bartolozzi … ‘Obtain by all means, the history of those islands, by Bryan Edwards, the ‘facile princeps’ of writers in his department.’ - Dibdin …�
Bryan Edwards (1743-1800), planter and politician. ONDB “Edwards was a diligent and able writer of West Indian history. Of his literary works, the most important is his two-volume History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies, published in London in 1793. According to Elsa Goveia, its scope is large, providing ‘a complete account of the British islands—their origin and progress, their political system, their inhabitants, customs, institutions, agriculture and commerce’ (Goveia, Historiography, 80-81). Edwards wrote that he attempted: ‘to describe the manners and dispositions of the present inhabitants, as influenced by climate, situation, and other local causes … an account of the African slave trade, some observations on the negro character and genius, and reflections on the system of slavery established in our colonies. (Edwards, History)’ This classic work ran into five editions, was expanded to five volumes in the last edition, which appeared in 1819, and was translated into French, German, Dutch, Portuguese, and Italian (Ragatz, Guide, 164-5).�
, Sabin 21901; Goveia 80-81; Ragatz 164-5.

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Bryan Edwards : The History, Civil and Commercial of the British Colonies in the West Indies

John Stockdale, London, 1794

Full contemporary diced calf boards tastefully rebacked, spine in six compartments of raised gilt bands and gilt floral motifs, gilt text on two, four, and six, board edges and inner dentelles gilt-tooled, all edges marbled, endpapers marbled. , A fine copy of this desirable work, in handsome full period calf., 4to. , P. Volume 1. (6), frontis, title, blank, dedication, blank, preface v-xxxii, rare plant catalogue xxxiii-xxxvi, contents xxxvii-xlviii, list of plates xlix-lix, 1-494, (6); Volume 2. (6), frontis, title, blank, 1-520, errata, blank, (6)., Complete with 17 plates, 10 of which are maps (3 folding, including the double-sheet map of the West Indies), 6 are vignettes of historical or cultural significance, and 1 is the plan of an 18th-century sugar mill. The frontispiece of the first volume was engraved by Bartolozzi. , Volume : Two Volumes.

With the bookplate of Lord Camden., This is considered the best edition because of the inclusion of many more maps, plans and plates. Edwards had finished writing a third volume when he unexpectedly passed away, and thus it was published posthumously in 1801. Some second editions include the third volume which was published later, but this work is complete in itself.
“A classic in British Caribbean literature and probably the most famous work in the field. Standard for over a century, and still in many respects the best book on the subject up to the close of the eighteenth century… His book is written from the point of view of a planter, unrestricted trade with America and the freeing of West Indian produce from hampering British import duties being argued for. Supports regulation of the slave trade…� (Ragatz)
Bryan Edwards (1743-1800) was a planter and politician. ONDB “Edwards was a diligent and able writer of West Indian history. Of his literary works, the most important is his two-volume History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies, published in London in 1793. According to Elsa Goveia, its
scope is large, providing ‘a complete account of the British islands—their origin and progress, their political system, their inhabitants, customs, institutions, agriculture and commerce’ (Goveia, Historiography, 80-81). Edwards wrote that he attempted: ‘to describe the manners and dispositions of the present inhabitants, as influenced by climate, situation, and other local causes … an account of the African slave trade, some observations on the negro character
and genius, and reflections on the system of slavery established in our colonies. (Edwards, History)’ (Ragatz, Guide, 164-5).�
, Sabin 21901 and 21894; Goveia 80-81; Ragatz 164-5; Cox II 228

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