The water witch; or the skimmer of the seas. A tale ... In three volumes
London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, 1830. First British edition, following the very rare Dresden edition by about a month (only one recorded copy according to BAL, although OCLC records at least a dozen, and as of this date there are two other copies for sale on-line), and preceding the American edition (dated 1831) by at least a month; 3 volumes, 12mo, pp. viii, 321, [1], [2] ads; [2], 316; [2], 308; original gray paper-covered boards, purple muslin shelfback, printed paper labels on spines; spines sunned, labels yellowed, small chip at the top of the label on the first volume, but overall a very good copy. On the upper cover of each volume is the ownership signature of "Mr. Murray / of Simprin," and in ink on recto of front endpaper in volumes I and III: "Georgiana McMuir Mackenzie / Garry Cottage / 1856 / From Susan Popham." Georgina Muir Mackenzie (1833–1874) was a British Balkan sympathizer, writer and traveler. Visiting spas in Austria-Hungary and Germany in 1858 she was arrested as a spy with her traveling companion, Paulina Irby "because they supposedly had 'pan-Slavistic tendencies ... They lodged an official complaint with the British Ambassador and this brought an apology of sorts from the relevant minister. They now had a purpose as they traveled in the Balkans investigating the conditions and both became supporters of Serbia and the southern Slavs as they saw their conditions under the perceived poor government by the Turkish rulers. They were particularly concerned by the plight of Orthodox women and girls who found they had poor access to positions and schooling. They published Across the Carpathians which explained how they had been arrested for spying ... a book that William Gladstone said was 'the best English book I have seen on Eastern matters'" (Wikipedia). BAL 3846. Item #66605
Price: $1,250.00
