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A Beautiful Example of the First Edition of Hennepin's First and Finest Work. With His Famous Map

With the Very Rare 1684 Variant Title Page

Rare 1684 variant of the first edition of this foundational work for the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest, in a beautiful binding, from the collection of Ira Lipman. The sheets of the 1683 first edition here issued with a variant 1684 title page with Auroy's imprint. Another variant exists with the date crudely changed by the addition of a fourth I to the Roman numeral 1683 date.

Father Hennepin (1626 - c.1701) was a Recollect missionary and explorer. He received orders to travel to Canada in an expedition approved by the powerful Minister Colbert and commanded by the King of France, accompanying Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, recently appointed to the governorship of Fort Frontenac, in Nouvelle France. In 1675 they set sail. The vessel also carried Francois de Laval de Montmorency, Bishop of Quebec, whose acquaintance proved useful in Canada. Upon making port in the French dominions of Canada, Hennepin began traveling without comfort throughout the region, providing us a testimony of his explorer spirit, his luggage often being carried by dogs, at other times by canoe. Through this experience he learned the language and customs of the natives. In 1679, Hennepin joined the expedition led by La Salle through the Great Lakes. It is during this expedition that Niagara Falls and Saint Anthony Falls (Minneapolis) were discovered.

In 1683, Hennepin's account was published, giving us the first report of Niagara Falls, the first description of Louisiana, the first account of the headwaters of the Mississippi above the Wisconsin and the first map to name Louisiana.

"This is the earliest printed account of La Salle's 1678-79 expedition to Illinois (and the building of Fort Crevecoeur), written by the explorer's close companion, Father Hennepin. It is the first to relate Hennepin's travels up the Mississippi, his discovery of the Falls of St. Anthony, and his captivity among the Sioux. It is also the first to describe Niagara Falls and to use the name Louisiana. The Description is considered Hennepin's most accurate work. A Recollect missionary who spent 11 years in America, he was one of the great pioneers of exploration in the western Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi." (Nebenzahl).

Given the combined significance of the text and map, few works in the history of American exploration are of greater importance - Reese.

The map, Carte de la Nouvelle France et de la Louisiane, is remarkably important, its influence cannot be overstated as it is the first map to name Louisiana. The map was engraved by Roussel and embellished with a cartouche by N. Guerard.

Rarity

The 1684 edition is extremely rare on the market. Other than this example, the last complete example of this state of the book reported by RBH was the C.F. Libbie copy offered in 1914 (Catalog 22, item 533).

Provenance

• John Carter Brown Library (tiny deaccession stamp to endleaf)
• William Reese Co.
• Ira Lipman
• Lipman Sale, Sotheby's New York, 13 April 2021, lot 242