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Knickerbocker, Diedrich : History of New-York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty

Carey and Lea, 1831

Two volumes in one. pp. xxv, [2], 28-276; vi, [1], 8-235. Foxed throughout. 12 mo. 180 mm. Original full leather cover binding, heavily worn, front cover detaching, but attached by original pastedown.Seventh Edition. Contemporary prior owner signature on second free end paper of William P. Marshall. Foxing throughout. Early autograph ownership of William P. Marshall. In late 1809, while mourning the death of his seventeen year old fiancee Matilda Hoffman, Irving completed work on this, his first major book, A History of New-York. It is a satire on self-important local history and contemporary politics. Prior to its publication, Irving started a hoax akin to today's viral marketing campaigns; he placed a series of missing person adverts in New York newspapers seeking information on Diedrich Knickerbocker, a crusty Dutch historian who had allegedly gone missing from his hotel in New York City. As part of the ruse, Irving placed a notice (allegedly from the hotel's proprietor) informing readers that if Mr. Knickerbocker failed to return to the hotel to pay his bill, he would publish a manuscript that Knickerbocker had left behind. Unsuspecting readers followed the story of Knickerbocker and his manuscript with interest, and some New York city officials were concerned enough about the missing historian that they considered offering a reward for his safe return. Riding the wave of public interest he had created with his hoax, Irving adopted as a pseudonym the name of his Dutch historian, and it became an appellation for New Yorkers generally - Knickerbockers (as in the basketball Knicks)., Fair

5th or later Edition

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