FILSON, John (c.1753-1788).
Histoire de Kentucke, nouvelle colonie a l'ouest de la Virginie....
Paris, 1785. First French Edition.

8vo., (7 7/8" x 4 5/8"). FINE large engraved folding map "Carte de Kentucke" by "Andre" after Filson, at end. Contemporary French mottled sheep, the smooth spine ruled in six compartments, gilt lettered in one, the others decorated with fine gilt tools (just a little rubbed).

Provenance: with the signed bookplate of Bruce McKinney on the front paste-down, his sale, his sale 2nd December 2010, lot 118, - $3,416.

THE FIRST BOOK DEVOTED TO KENTUCKY.

First French edition, first published in Wilmington Delaware the previous year, and without a map, which was published simultaneously and separately by Pursell and Rook of Philadelphia, and reprinted eight times between 1784-1793. The map in this volume was engraved and published in France. Filson arrived in Kentucky in 1783 and soon settled in Lexington, where he became a teacher and surveyor. "Relative peace had come to the Kentucky frontier in 1782 after the battle of Blue Licks, which in part diminished the omnipresent menace from Native Americans. Filson quickly seized on an idea to publish an account of the dramatic story of Kentucky's settlement and its natural history that would attract settlers and thereby increase the value of his landholdings. As he conducted land surveys and traveled throughout the central bluegrass region, he began intensively interviewing prominent frontiersmen such as Daniel Boone, James Harrod, and others about their Kentucky experiences" (Hay). "The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke, and an Essay towards the Topography and Natural History of That Important Country: To Which Is Added an Appendix" was the first written history of Kentucky, and because there were no printers in Kentucky, Filson traveled to Wilmington, Delaware, where James Adams printed it. "The main work consists of brief descriptive essays on topics such as the nature of the soil, discovery of Kentucky, air and climate, inhabitants, and rights of land (the three ways one can acquire land in Kentucky). Written in a vivid and colorful style with occasional factual errors, the book extolls the Eden-like qualities of Kentucky, an environment conducive to republican virtues and blessed with material riches. Aside from his personal observations, Filson cleverly used testimonies of leading Kentucky frontiersmen as endorsements in the book. The most important and enduring part of the volume, in the appendix, is "The Adventures of Colonel Daniel Boon," which traces the pioneer's life from the time he entered Kentucky in 1769 to 1784. Although written as an autobiography and signed by Boone, the pedantic writing style is clearly Filson's. Readers in America and Europe eagerly read of Boone's heroic exploits as an advance agent of progress, a natural man, who tamed the rugged frontier for civilization, and Filson's book became a major vehicle in publicizing and stimulating migration to Kentucky. "While Adams was printing the book, Filson employed Philadelphia engraver Henry Pursell and printer Ternon Rook to produce a map Filson had drawn to encourage settlement of Kentucky. Composed primarily from secondhand accounts of Boone and other explorers and Filson's own knowledge of the region, the map is well drawn but not completely accurate. It depicts the state's rivers and creeks, mountains and hills, towns and forts, and canebrakes, and clearly marks the location of the land surveyor's office. As was the cartographer's intention, the map conveys a sense of civilization and progress"

(Charles C. Hay for ADNB). Church 1212; Field 537; Howes F129; Jones 590; Littell 351; Sabin 24338.