History of the Captivity of Napoleon First Edition - Napoleon - Bauman Rare Books

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History of the Captivity of Napoleon

NAPOLEON | William FORSYTH

Item#: 123209 We're sorry, this item has been sold

History of the Captivity of Napoleon

History of the Captivity of Napoleon

History of the Captivity of Napoleon

History of the Captivity of Napoleon

History of the Captivity of Napoleon

NAPOLEON’S JAILOR VINDICATED: FORSYTH’S HISTORY OF THE CAPTIVITY, HANDSOMELY BOUND

(NAPOLEON) FORSYTH, William. History of the Captivity of Napoleon at St. Helena; from the Letters and Journals of the Late Lieut.-Gen. Sir Hudson Lowe, and Official Documents Not Before Made Public. London: John Murray, 1853. Three volumes. Octavo, 20th-century full tan morocco gilt, raised bands, red and black morocco spine labels, marbled endpapers and edges.

First edition of this defense of Napoleon’s jailor, Sir Hudson Lowe, regarding Napoleon’s medical treatment and death while in exile on St. Helena. With frontispiece illustration in each volume and large folding map of the island as it was in 1816.

"Having sent the fallen Emperor Napoleon into exile on St. Helena, the British needed to provide Napoleon with a doctor who could attend to the his medical needs, as well as provide testimony to Napoleon's good care and healthful situation… There was good reason to be concerned that Napoleon was treated well. One critic saw Napoleon's exile as 'a death sufficiently slow to be apparently natural… Reading of the medical treatment of Napoleon and his party leads one to wonder whether, intentional or not, the treatment given didn't hasten Napoleon's demise. Napoleon's party seemed to be all being dosed with mercury in various forms, a common enough treatment at the time… Mercury poisoning can cause insomnia, tremor, and attacks of rage and in some forms can cause violent gastrointestinal irritation. The latter alone could have hastened Napoleon's death from stomach cancer" (Tom Holmberg). In his Preface, William Forsyth concludes that "with the most rigid adherence to truth, and by the mere force of facts, [he] succeeded in vindicating the memory of those who have been long calumniated, and proving that neither the British government nor Sir Hudson Lowe was in fault as regards the treatment of Napoleon at St. Helena."

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
Association Copy copy that belonged to someone connected with the author or the contents of a book.
Boards Hard front and rear covers of a bound book which are covered in cloth, leather or paper. “Original boards” refers to cardboard-like front and back boards, from about 1700 to 1840, used as temporary protection for books before their purchasers would have them bound. Of particular value to collectors as evidence of a very early form of the book.
Book-Plate Label, generally affixed to the front pastedown, identifying a book’s owner.
Broadside Sheet printed on one side, typically for public display, usually larger than folio size (a folio being a broadside-size sheet printed on both sides and folded once, to make four pages).
Calf Binding material made from cowhide—versatile, durable, usually tan or brown in color, of smooth texture with no or little apparent grain. Readily marbled (“tree calf”), mottled, diced, colored, polished, tooled in gilt or blind, even scented (known as “russia”). Reverse calf, with a distinctive suede-like texture, is occasionally used.
Chromolithograph Lithograph printed in colors, typically three or more.
Collation Process by which the contents of a book are inspected for completeness, checking against internal evidence, the table of contents and/or plate list, and reference works. Also a shorthand bibliographical description of a book’s composition by its leaves and signatures, rather than its pages. A-C, for example, would indicate a quarto volume composed of three signatures or gatherings of eight pages each for a total of 24 pages.
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Doublure Pastedowns made not of paper but of leather, for decorative purposes.
Duodecimo (12MO) Smaller than an octavo, typically less than six inches tall; smaller formats, such as 24mo and 32mo, are uncommon.
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Morocco Binding material made from goatskin—versatile, durable, with a distinctive pebbled texture and visible grain. Readily stretched (“straight-grain”), crushed (flattened smooth), tooled in gilt or blind, inlaid with leathers of different colors. So-called because much of the raw material originally came from the tanneries of North Africa (other types of goatskin bindings denoting regions of origin include levant, turkey, niger).
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Wood-Engraving Engraving made with the graver or burin on the cross-section of a piece of boxwood; the harder wood and finer tools allow for more delicate, finely detailed images, while the block can still be set in the page alongside text and printed on the same stock as the text. While much older, wood engravings enjoyed an important renaissance in the late eighteenth century through Thomas Bewick and continued in popularity thorugh the nineteenth century.
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