Landmark Books in All Fields
ItemID: #109588
Cost: $500.00

Pioneers

James Fenimore Cooper

1825 EDITION OF JAMES FENIMORE COOPER’S THE PIONEERS, THE FIRST OF “THE LEATHER-STOCKING TALES"

[COOPER, James Fenimore]. The Pioneers, or, the Sources of the Susquehanna. Paris: A. and W. Galignani, 1825. Three volumes. Small octavo, contemporary full diced brown calf gilt. $500.

Early Paris edition in English of Cooper’s third novel, the first of “The Leather-Stocking Tales."

For The Pioneers, Cooper "turned to the Cooperstown of his youth, described the establishment of a new settlement in the wilderness, introduced the character of Leatherstocking, and began the ambivalent treatment of the westward movement that he would continue for many years. It… was a great success" (ANB). Cooper's greatest work is undoubtedly found in 'The Leather-Stocking Tales" (Fullerton, 67). "Single-handed, at a time when American literature was almost a thing unborn, Cooper created real and living books in two distinct fields— the sea story and the romantic story of the wilderness" (Kunitz & Haycraft, 178). The work was followed by the rest of Cooper's "Leather-Stocking Tales": The Last of the Mohicans, The Deerslayer, The Pathfinder, and The Prairie. First published in 1823; the first French edition (in French) was published that same year. Wright 671. Spiller & Blackburn 3. See BAL 3829.

Foxing to text; handsome contemporary calf with a few shallow chips to spine heads.

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