First edition, one of the most important of all the books written about the English colonization of the Americas, Captain Smith's Generall Historie of Virginia ranks as the greatest illustrated work on this period; it includes Smith's eye-witness observations of the founding of the English Colony at Jamestown, his capture by the King of the Pamaunkee, and rescue through the intercession of Pocahontas, occurred during his time spent in Virginia (1606-1609), and his exploration of New England (1610-1617). The Generall Historie is a major American primary source, incorporating much of his early writing as well as contemporary narratives by others.
“The foundation of England’s knowledge of America during the early period of colonization” (Printing and the Mind of Man 124)
There is some disagreement over the necessity of the portraits of Princess Frances and Pocahontas for the completeness of the book (especially for the 1624 first edition). Arber, writing in 1884, said of the first edition: “The engravings of the Duchess of RICHMOND and MATOAKA (p. cxxxvi) did not form parts of this original [1624] edition.” (Arber 1884, page cxxxi). The Publisher's Note to the 1907 facsimile of the Generall Historie recounted the following conclusions (pages xix-xx): “From a copy of the prospectus of the work in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries of London we learn that Smith intended to insert only three maps instead of the six which subsequently appeared, and that these three maps would cost nearly 'an hundred pounds, which summe I cannot disbursee.' From the dedication it is clear that but for the help of the Duchess of Richmond and Lennox the book would not have been published, at all events in its original shape, and it is probable that her liberality enabled Smith to increase the number of maps and add the portraits of the Duchess herself and Pocahontas.”
Book-collecting in the late 19th and 20th centuries demanded the insertion of the portraits, but the first edition was mostly likely not properly illustrated with such plates.
Smith's Generall Historie includes three of the most important maps in American history (his Virginia, Ould Virginia, and New England), and is almost never encountered in the 1624 first edition.
Maps
Smith's Generall Historie varies widely in its complement of plates and the states thereof. The following is an assessment of the plates and maps within the book and their states.
Title Page: Burden's 1st state (of 6). “The date 1624 appears twice in the title, and Charles as Prince is uncrowned. Appears in the 1624 and 1625 editions of the book.” (Burden 213).
Virginia: 10th state (of 12). "[O]ne of the most important printed maps of America ever published and certainly one of the greatest influence. It became the prototype for the area for half a century... States 8 to 10 were used for both the Purchas and various Generall Historie editions." (Burden 164)
Ould Virginia: Burden's 4th state (of 4). The map covers the region first settled by Walter Raleigh at Roanoak Island, in present-day North Carolina, between Cape Henry and Cape Fear. The map is surrounded by engravings of Smith's adventures, capture by the King of the Pamaunkee and rescue by Pocahontas.
Bermuda: Sabin's 3rd state (of 3). With “Penistons Redoute” in compartment G, and the addition of the line “Printed by Iames Reeve” in compartment N.
New England: Sabin-Church-Burden's 9th state (of 9), with school of fish added off Cape Cod. “[T]he foundation map of New England cartography, the one that gave [New England] its name and the first devoted to the region...” (Burden 187). According to Burden, the 1624 Generall Historie should include states 3 and 4, some of 2. The 1627 Generall Historie should include states 5 and 6. Therefore we may conclude that the present map was inserted from another copy at an early stage.
Text and collation:
“All copies seemingly lack pp. 97-104 (signature O), which Henry Stevens, with his usual acuteness in bibliographical matters, proves never was printed. The manuscript, it appears from his explanation, was given out to two different printing-houses to be put into type, as is shown by the apparent variations of the initial letters and by the style of the headings on and after page 105. The gap in the volume was due to a miscalculation in the number of pages that the first portion would take up; supplementary verses were inserted to fill what would otherwise have been a blank leaf” (Church 402).
“In the original editions pages 97 to 104 are invariably missing, and it was for long thought that they had been suppressed. The late Mr. Henry Stevens, F.S.A., however, shoed from comparison of the types and ornaments that the book had been handed to two printers to be set up simultaneously, and that the hiatus was caused by the first portion of the work not occupying in print the number of pages assigned to it, the second portion meanwhile having been partly printed off. This theory is corroborated on the title page, which bears the imprint, 'Printed by I. D. and I. H. for Michael Sparkes.” (1907 Facsimile)
Variant: An early impression of the text, with “thir" for “their" in the last line of page 90, but “digression" replacing “degression" in the shoulder note on page 119.
Composition:
The work is composed of six books: the first book describes the first settlement of Virginia, and the subsequent voyages there to 1605; the second is Smith's description of the country and its Indian inhabitants; the third book relates the occurrences of Smith's voyage and the settlement of Jamestown, from December 1606 to 1609; the fourth book continues the Virginia history from the planting of Point Comfort in 1609 to 1623; the fifth book comprises the history of the Bermudas (or Summer Isles) from 1593 to 1624; and the sixth book contains the history of New England from 1614 to 1624.
Early manuscript annotation on Powhatans punishments: "Y[e] could wish this custom punishment were in practis here in England". Also a ca. 1830s’ manuscript note on pagination irregularities on blank leaf after page 96, and an early annotation recording purchase of volume and cost of binding "by Lewis" on blank leaf opposite title page. Finally, we find a pencil note on rear pastedown, collated for Bernard Quaritch, by G. Talbot.
Provenance:
Joseph Haslewood, gilt armorial bookplate, his sale, Evans in Pall Mall, 1833;
G. Musgrave, gilt supra libros on covers, Musgrave library sold in the 1840s; armorial bookplate of Joseph Haslewood; Roy V. Boswell, California collector, March 1967; Gregory S. Javitch (1898-1980), of Montreal, noted Russian-born Canadian collector who amassed an important group of books relating to Native Americans (2500 items on what he styled "Peoples of the New World"), covering North and South America, the collection was acquired by Bruce Peel as the cornerstone of the Special Collections Library at the University of Alberta, which also has Javitch's collection of Jesuit Relations. The present book remained in Javitch's private collection.
Burden, Mapping of North America, 164, 187, 212, 213. European Americana 624/152. Church 402. JCB (3) II:188. Baer (Md): 7. Hoe Catalogue, 4:192. 2: 490. Field 1435. Pilling, Algonquian Languages, page 470. Printing and the Mind of Man 124. Sabin 82823-82824. STC 22790. Winsor, Earliest Sources, page 10. Winsor, 3:211, 163. Huth Catalogue 4:1367. Vail 68. Reese & Miles, Creating America 82. America Pictured to the Life 27. Reese Sale 8. Smith’s Works, Arber’s reprint, 1: cxxxi., 274.
