Colonial Georgia Rarity
This captivating and exceptionally rare account was penned by William Stephens before his tenure as Governor of the Province of Georgia in 1743. Stephens' work stands as an important source book for early Georgia. Chronicling his experiences from his arrival in Savannah on October 20, 1737, to October 4, 1740, Stephens offers a detailed account of colonial life, his business activities, and his interactions with the residents of the colony, including James Oglethorpe, the colony's governor at that time. Notably he records quite a bit about the Native Americans in Georgia, including the Chickasaw and Choctaw, including early conflicts with colonists.
A selection of topics, taken from the index give a flavor of this interesting book
- Augusta, an Account of the Fort being finished there.
- Negroes, runaway, from Carolina, stopt in Georgia
- Oglethorpe, General, his arrival at St. Simon's, goes to Savannah.
- Wright, committed to Prison for trading with the Indians without a licence.
- Horse-Racing set up by the Malecontents in Savannah.
- Malatchie, one of the Creek Indians, his conduct.
- Negroes in South Carolina, an Insurrection of them.
- Rum, people drunk with it insult the Peace-Officers.
- Spanish spy confin'd.
- Tailfer, Dr. his endeavors to form a Company of Vounteers.
- Whitfield, arrives at Savannah, his conduct at Charles-Town.
- Wigan, a Trader among the Lower Creeks, his letter about attempts of the French to draw off the Indians from the English interest.
Commissioned by the Trustees of the colony, this journal was purportedly issued in a limited run of just 70 copies, intended exclusively for distribution among the Trustees. Concluding the second volume is "A State of the Province of Georgia, Attested upon Oath in the Court of Savannah, November 10, 1740." This section provides an insightful overview of the province's geography, climate, natural resources, commerce, settlements, and inhabitants, offering readers a comprehensive snapshot of early Georgian society.
A third volume, containing an impossibly rare. De Renne states only four complete sets (Georgia Historical, John Carter Brown Library, Advocate's Library, Edinburgh, and the De Renne copy). The much repeated line (see Vail, Howes, etc.) that only 70 copies were printed, and all but 30 of vol. 3 burned with the printing office is probably based on a manuscript note by C. C. Jones, Jr. in Vol. I of the De Renne example:
Of this work only 70 copies were printed by order of the Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America. This done, they ordered the "press to be broke" [i.e. the type distributed]. Such was the fact, as testified by the 1st Earl of Egmont - the first President of the Board of Trustees - and shown by the Resolutions of the Board."
Part of Vol. 3 was reprinted separately as: Journal Received February 4, 1741. By the Trustees for Establishing the Colony of Georgia, in America, from William Stephens, Esq. (London, 1742).
Rarity
Extremely rare. Only a single example has appeared in RBH in the last 65 years. As pointed out, Vol. III is impossibly rare, and even the Brinley copy lacked vol. III, and still fetched a very respectable $40 in 1880. For comparison, Brinley's 1555 first edition of the Cabeza de Vaca sold for $34.