Beschreibung:

A Description of East-Florida, With a Journal kept by John Bartram of Philadelphia, Botanist to His Majesty for the Floridas; Upon a Journey from St. Augustine up the River St. Johns, as Far as the Lakes. London: W. Nicoll and T. Jefferies, 1769. 2 parts in 1 volume. [4], viii, 40; [2], xii, 35 pp. With 2 folding engraved plans and a frontispiece folding engraved map: East Florida, from Surveys made since the last Peace, 432 x 365 mm, all by Thomas Jeffreys. 4to (255 x 190 mm). Period half speckled calf over marbled boards, rebacked to style. Short repaired tear to first map, neatly mended corner folds in first half, else fresh and about fine. THE FIRST EDITION WITH MAPS, third edition overall, considered the rarest edition. The general map which serves as the frontispiece is in its first state, with no scale. There is additionally a plan of St. Augustine and of the Bay of Espiritu Santo (Tampa Bay). "East Florida" in Dr Stork's day roughly corresponds to the area that became the state of Florida. This work is prized for Batram's thorough botanical descriptions and his promotional appreciation of Florida's scenic beauty, to wit: "The Magnolia mentioned here among the trees 100 feet high, must be the Laurel-leafed Tulip-tree; and is the most elegant evergreen tree of North-America, both for its large milk-white odoriferous blossoms, and its shining Laurel shaped leaves." Clark I:195; Cumming Southeast 379; De Renne I, p 193; Howes S1042; Sabin 92222; Servies 480; Vail 600. Acquisition: purchased from William Reese Company, 1992, $4,500.