LETTERS FROM VAN DIEMAN'S LAND, WRITTEN DURING FOUR YEARS IMPRISIONMENT FOR POLITICAL OFFENCES COMMITTED IN UPPER CANADA by WAIT, Benjamin - 1843

Paperback / softback. New.

Hardback. New.

Hardback. New.

Buffalo: A.W. Wilgus, 1843. Hardcover. Very Good. First edition. 356pp., frontispiece, folding map. Contemporary quarter-leather and papercovered boards. One half of the folding map lacking (torn away at the fold), corners rounded, scattered foxing throughout, an otherwise very good copy.

Buffalo: A. G. Wilgus, 1843. First edition, 12mo, pp. vi, [7]-356; engraved frontispiece and a folding map; contemporary calf-backed cloth, spine quite worn, with small loss, joints cracked; folding portion of map lacking, but still essentially complete, moderate foxing. The author was imprisoned for activities leading up to the Rebellion of 1837-38. A summary of the causes of the Rebellion is given, but most of the work comprises letters written from the English penal colony in Tasmania. Lande 2283. TPL 2622. Howes W-16; American Imprints 43-5096; Sabin 100969.

Buffalo: A. W. Wilgus, 1843. Book. Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. Original quarter-calf over textured cloth hard covers, with gilt title to spine. Toning and rubbing to covers; edges worn through at corners. Spine leather still supple, but worn and rubbed with short splits to upper spine. Titling still just legible. Front free endpaper present but pasted to inner front cover; two later bookplates affixed there. Hinges cracked at endpapers but still firm enough. Toning and some staining to text; fore-margin of folding map lost but map itself still complete. Remains a neat and useful, unrestored, example of the original edition. Frontispiece illustration, folding map. vi[7-]356pp..

Buffalo: A.W. Wilgus. 1843. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 12mo, 17c,m, The First Edition, vi,[7]-356p., with wood-engraved frontis portrait view, and single folded maps (printed in white on black) of Van Diemen's Land, some foxing, quarter dark calf, original boards, spines starting, a good working copy. (cdn) TPL 2622. Lande 2283. Sabin 100969. Ferguson 3762. There were nine Canadian exile narratives written by participants in the Rebellion of 1837-38 in Upper and Lower Canada. Wait was convicted of high treason and condemned to death, but his sentence was later commuted to permanent exile to Van Diemen's Land. He managed to escape to the United States before news reached him that he had received a pardon in 1842.

Buffalo: A. W. Wilgus, 1843. First Edition. Hardcover. Good. vi, 7-356 p. 18 cm. Illustrated with a woodcut frontisportrait and a folding map at the rear printed in white on black titled Van Diemen's Island. Black horizontally ribbed cloth with leather spine stamped in gilt. Moderate wear with scuffing at the corners and spine ends. Moderate to near-heavy foxing on the first dozen leaves, then light foxing throughout, generally around the page edges. A dime-sized circular embossed blind-stamp appears at the foot of the frontis, with just a few letters visible.  Mark repeated on a front endpaper. Slight spine lean.  Title Continues: Embodying, Also, Letters Descriptive of Personal Appeals in Behalf of Her Husband, and His Fellow Prisoners, to the Earl of Durham, Her Majesty, and the United Legislature of the Canadas, by Mrs. B. Wait. Benjamin Wait (1813-1895), rebel, was born in Markham Township, Upper Canada.  His participation in the rebellion of 1837-38 led to a death sentence, commuted to… Read More

Buffalo: A. W. Wilgus, 1843. First Edition. First printing. Octavo (17cm). In contemporary tan sheep, with remnants of black leather spine label; plain endpapers; [i]-vi [7]-356pp; frontispiece portrait and folding map of Van Dieman's Land p.353. Pencil ownership signature of A. G. Champlin. A straight copy, leather rubbed and peeling, most of spine label lacking, small loss at head of spine, front pastedown damaged where a bookplate has been removed, joints worn, foxed throughout: Good. Benjamin Wait was exiled to Van Dieman's Land (i.e., Tasmania) for his participation in the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837-1838. His wife Maria expended great efforts to free him, getting his original death sentence commuted to transportation and struggling to obtain a pardon for him, but she died shortly after his return to America. This volumes combines his narrative of his experience, taken from letters written to a friend, and an account of Maria's work on his behalf. FERGUSON 3762. HOWES W16. SABIN 100969.… Read More

Buffalo: A. W. Wilgus, 1843. First edition. Wait was a participant in the Rebellion of 1837-38 in Canada and was convicted of high treason and condemned to death; his sentence was later commuted to exile at "Van Dieman's Land" (Tasmania) from which he escaped with the assistance of "the benevolent Americans who delivered me from the horrors of slavery". This is considered to be the most common of the Canadian Exile narratives. Ferguson 3762 cites the Buffalo Historical Society about the force of character of Mrs. Wait, who worked tirelessly for the release of her husband, and who sadly died the year this book was published. 8vo, 356 pp, b&w frontis, b&w folding map at p. 352, foxed, as is usual. Black cloth cover with quarter leather. Spine with the "W" of "Wait's" and "Narrative" just visible, with a rather odd spine repair with three leather strips placed over original black spine, which is rubbed.