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[Lee Boo, Prince] : The History of Prince Lee Boo, a Native of the Pelew Islands, brought to England by Captain Wilson. A new Edition

12mo. pp. vi, 178, [vi] advertisements + engraved portrait frontis. and 5 engraved plates. Some staining towards the end of the volume. Green vellum spine over marbled boards (as described by Roscoe), worn. Early juvenile ownership isncription: Mary Anne Matthews. Priced 1/6 on title.

Elizabeth Newbery succeeded her husband John Newbery, who is generally regarded as the first to publisher to specialize in children’s literature. The first dated edition of this work appears to have been printed in 1789, and there are a number of undated issues which are difficult to pin down precisely (Newbery’s bibliographer Roscoe makes good use of dated ownership insriptions). However, Elizabeth Newbery retired in favour of John Harris in 1801, which gives us a terminus ante quem. Lee Boo’s story caused a sensation at the time. He was both ‘noble savage’ and educational experiment. In 1783 Henry Wilson’s ship, the East Indiaman ‘Antelope’, ran aground on islands he named the ‘Pelews’ (Palau). The crew were received hospitably by the local population and managed to construct a new vessel from the wreckage of the old, in which they were able to reach Macao. The highest-ranking local chief, called by the Englishmen King Abba Thulle, asked Wilson to take one of his sons, Lee Boo, back to England to learn more about European technology and customs. Lee Boo was feted by London society but, despite Wilson’s best efforts, he succumbed to small pox in December 1784, a little short of six months after his arrival. He is buried in St Mary’s, Rotherhithe., Roscoe: John Newbery and his successors, J170(3A).

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