There was one thing that did bring the British and their colonists closer together during the colonial period - the French. The two sides were closely aligned during the French and Indian War. Item 186 is a virulent sermon on the topic preached by Presbyterian minister and New Jersey College (later Princeton) President Samuel Davies on May 8, 1758, during the height of that war:  The Curse of Cowardice:  A Sermon Preached to the Militia of Hanover County, in Virginia… Rev. Davies minces no words in haranguing for more recruits. "Need I inform you what barbarities and depredations a mongrel race of Indian savages and French Papists have perpetrated on our frontiers?" Davies goes on to ask, "Can Indian revenge and thirst for blood be gutted? Or can French ambition and avarice be satisfied? No, we have no method left but to repel force with force, and to give them blood to drink in their turn who have drunk ours." Strong words for a man of peace. $3,500.

 

Item 24 is George Catlin's very rare pamphlet, An Account of An Annual Religious Ceremony Practised by the Mandan Tribe of North American Indians. Catlin was reluctant to discuss this violent religious ceremony, but agreed to submit an account in writing to London's Philobiblion Society in 1865. The Society promptly published this account in 50 copies. Catlin was upset. He disavowed authorship and demanded all copies be surrendered. Quite obviously, his demand was not met. Still, this item is extremely rare, this being the Siebert copy and apparently the only one on the market in the past 25 years. $17,500.

 

The George S. MacManus Co. may be reached at 610-520-7273 or books@macmanus-rarebooks.com. Their website is www.macmanus-rarebooks.com.