Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - October - 2003 Issue
Remembering the Revolution
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So to not forget the victims of this story - Mr. Allen was a farmer and lived on and lived off his farm. The revolution was underway and most of the time far away. The British brought the fight to far away places by offering Indians a reward for scalps, preferably white ones. This monetized the local population, something similar to what Asama Ben Ladem did on a larger scale in New York in 2001 with his purported martyr pensions, a modern day variation on the plan executed under George III. My only point is that this type of crime is not new. The outcome of the attack was the destruction of the Allen clan and as it was only the scalps the British wanted (the grisly proof of purchase) the invaders separated them from their victims at great personal cost to the unwilling donors and turned them in for rewards.
There are ten records in the ÆD for this pamphlet. Howes records it as an A, his lowest rating. Howes however rated only a small percentage of Americana so his inclusion of this piece in his USiana amounts to an endorsement. “A”s today tend to sell for $125 to $450 and the average is $250+. The other nine records, suggest this piece is rare but not of significant interest to collectors. Ernest Wesson catalogued it 5 times between 1946 and 1966. He may have had two copies but they were hard to sell. This piece has been reprinted by the Hope Farm Press and can be purchased for $6.50. It’s an interesting read. Here is the link to this under appreciated item.
www.hopefarm.com/militpg3.htm#Bloody
An interesting collection of these accounts can be developed. Using the AED and KEYWORD searches I tried “revolution” as the keyword and 1840:1860. I found 907 matches from which to begin to build a wants list. While all these items will not apply they are a good start. Searches of other terms and periods will inevitably yield a substantial list that can be searched against both the internet and upcoming auctions automatically.
