Memoirs of an American Lady; with Sketches of Manners and Scenery in America, as They Existed Previous to the Revolution
New York: George Dearborn, 1836. Small Octavo. Item #031982
354 pages. Anne Macvicar Grant was born in Glasgow on 21 February 1755, the only child of Duncan Macvicar, an officer in the British army, and his wife, both Highland Scots from Argyllshire. She spent her childhood, from the ages of three to thirteen, in America, where her father had been posted not long after her birth. She had lived among Dutch settlers, French Huguenots, English soldiers, African-American slaves, and Mohawk people. She had learned the Dutch language among her young friends at Albany and had frequented the summer wigwams of the indigenous peoples. She could talk their language sufficiently well to make herself understood by those women and children who were accustomed to European conversations. All this knowledge, Grant had amassed by the time that she was ten years of age. She grew up in pre-revolutionary America and her life with the Schuyler family in Albany who helped raise and educate her. Her Memoirs also came to inspire other writers and artists interested in the Scottish Highlands, and it often cited as the inspiration for the Scottish folk song Blue Bells of Scotland. A lovely copy rebound, (most likely 20th c.) in 3/4 green morocco over marbled paper covered boards, raised bands ruled in gilt extending to boards, lettering gilt, endpapers renewed. Very nice.
Price: $275.00