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Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500
Long, John (fl. circa 1768-1791) Voyages and Travels of an Indian Interpreter and Trader, Describing the Manners and Customs of the North American Indians.
London: Printed for the author, and sold by Robson et. al., 1791.
First edition, [pi]3, A-Z4, Aa-Pp4, illustrated with large folding engraved map bound as frontispiece, large paper and uncut copy bound in contemporary white paper spine and blue paper-covered boards, some waterstaining to boards end endleaves, contents very good, signature of Lord Middleton of Wollaton on title, housed in a custom box; 11 1/2 x 9 in.
Almost all that is known of Long is contained in this book. He was in Montreal as of 1768, and learned the languages of indigenous people while working with European merchant traders. Long's work "is significant for its detailed and relatively unbiased descriptions of Indian life. He deplored the behavior of the Indians when they were intoxicated, but he recognized that many of the problems they were experiencing were directly attributable to the influence and example of whites. (He himself had pushed the priest of Tadoussac, Quebec into the St. Lawrence during a drunken quarrel.) Of considerable importance also are his lengthy vocabularies of Inuit, Mohawk, Algonkin, Mohegan, Shawnee, and Ojibwa terms." (Charles A. Bishop, Dictionary of Canadian Biography)
