George Washington, 1754

WASHINGTON, George (1732-1799). The Journal of Major George Washington, sent by the Hon. Robert Dinwiddie ... to the Commandant of the French Forces on the Ohio ... and ... the French Officer's Answer. London: T. Jefferys, 1754.

The first English edition of Washington's first published work. It contains the young officer's first-hand narrative of his dangerous winter journey through the Appalachian wilderness to deliver an ultimatum to the commander of the French outpost at Fort Le Boeuf [now Waterford, PA]. Washington demanded France's withdrawal from their Ohio Valley outposts—and not surprisingly, the French commander refused. Jeffreys' edition is a reprint of the unobtainable Williamsburgh edition, issued without map, of which about nine copies survive. Church 999; Graaf 4553; Howes W-134; Sabin 101710.

Octavo (182 x 114mm). Engraved folding map hand-colored in outline, "Map of the Western parts of the Colony of Virginia, as far as the Mississippi" (cut slightly close at gutter). Contemporary calf, covers gilt-ruled (rubbed). Provenance: Thomas Philip, Earl de Grey (bookplate) – James Strohn Copley (bookplate, his sale, Sotheby's New York, 15 October 2010).