A Journal of Transactions and Events, During a Residence of Nearly Sixteen Years on the Coast of Labrador (3 volumes)

George Cartwright

Newark [England] : Printed and sold by Allin and Ridge : Sold also by G.G.J. and J. Robinson ... and J. Stockdale London, 1792

3 volume set. Quartos, 34 x 27 cm. Rebound in modern cloth. Black leather spine label with gilt.  xxi, 287; x, 505; x, 248, 15 pp.  Portrait frontispiece, 3 map on 2 folding plates.  Perforated institutional stamps on title page, frontis, and map margins.  Frontispiece portrait offset toning to title page.  Text generally clean, with only a scintilla of spotting. 

George Cartwright (1739–1819) was a soldier, trader and explorer who spent sixteen years travelling and working in Labrador and Newfoundland in northern Canada. Cartwright served in the British Army during the Seven Years' and was subsequently sent by Bristol merchant to trade for furs with the native peoples.  Between 1770-86, he made six expeditions from between Cape St. Charles and Hamilton Inlet. Cartwright's work is significant as an early primary source of the history of the Labrador coast and the culture of the indigenous peoples.  His work contains an extensive glossary of words peculiar to Canadian life.  "Major Cartwright, the brother of the famous Major John Cartwright, was formerly an officer in the British army and made six expeditions to Newfoundland and Labrador between 1770 and 1786. His journal of his explorations, hunting, and trapping along the Canadian coast contains notes on Indians, Esquimaux, and animal life" (Lande). 

Refs: Sabin 11150; Staton and Tremaine 586; Lande 106; Davidson 139; O'Dea 245a. 

This is an oversized or heavy book, which requires additional postage for international delivery outside the US.