TEN YEARS RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1862. Hard Cover. Very Good+ binding. Item #7325
12mo. xii, 332 pp. First edition. In original cloth with embellishments and title in gold and blind; all edges gilt. Binding if quite bright and shows only light edgewear; front hinge has been effectively mended; previous owners' name and bookplate; only light and occasional foxing. A remarkably nice copy of a book that isn't often found thus. Fairly uncommon even in institutional holdings, OCLC identifies a 19 copies (OCLC 5947686). Clark remarks: "Mitchell claimed that he lived in the United States (mostly in Richmond, Virginia) for a period of ten years (1848-58). This book, which is based on his observations while a resident of the United States, is generally favorable to the South and to slavery. He thought the abolitionists did the Negroes an injustice when they made a moral issue out of slavery, and he asserted that eh Negro (who was regarded as a nuisance by Northerners and an economic necessity by Southerners) was and would be better cared for by Southern masters than by Northern politicians" (Clark III, 474). Mitchell's was an entirely too common voice in his prejudices and his defense of slavery. Howes M-674; Sabin 49671.
Price: $600.00