The Indian Chief: The Story of a Revolution

Gustave Aimard

Published by Ward And Lock, London, 1861

About this Item

Apparent First Edition (NAP, MDCCCLXI on the title page). Marbled covers with leather spine. Closed tear at the bottom of the fourth band counted from the top. Scratch on the spine crossing top of 'A' in Aimard. Very bright gilt lettering. Exceptionally clean covers. Smooth light rubbing at the corners and on the rear bottom edge. The color on the marbled front cover is discernibly lighter than that of the rear. The leather on the front is also a little duller, so I suspect the color on the front may have been dulled. Top page edge is gilt. All three page edges are quite clean. Thin crack/space between the front cover and spine (see 1st photo). Nevertheless the front cover seems solidly in place, at least for now. The book is square and very solidly bound from cover to cover with nicely tight pages throughout. There are no issues with the rear cover. There is a crack/space at the juncture between the inside front cover and illustrated first front end paper. You can't see it looking down, but if you look from the side there are places along the juncture that you can see right through. The inside covers and end papers are a swirling marble pattern. At the top edge of the blank verso of the front end paper, in very tiny letters, is an old French printed name and address. At the top of the Preface page, there is an old penned name and address. I'm choosing not to struggle to make out the name or names. The Preface page presents a short paragraph that reads 'With this volume terminates the series in which Gustave Aimard has described the sad fate of the Count de Raousset-Boulbon, who fell victim to Mexican treachery. In the next volume to be published, under the title of the "Trail Hunter," will be found the earlier history of some of the characters whose acquaintances the reader has formed, I trust with pleasure, in the present series.' The interior of the book is in very decent condition. The pages are toned, but supple and very clean. In scrolling through, I found only a very few tiny inconspicuous spots. I didn't see much by way of creasing. There is a tiny loss at the bottom corner of one page, far from the print. There are no other losses. There are no markings. No attachments. And no other writing other than what has been referenced. There's a green ribbon. 'As Aimard once said, he was the son of two people who were married, "but not to each other". His father, François Sébastiani de la Porta was a general in Napoleon's army and one of the ambassadors of the Louis Philippe government. According to the New York Times, Aimard?s mother was Mme. de Faudoas, married to Anne Jean Marie René de Savary, Duke de Rovigo. Aimard was given as a baby to a family that was paid to raise him. By the age of nine or so he was sent off on a herring ship. Later, around 1838, he served for a short while with the French Navy. After one more stay in America (where, according to himself, he was adopted into a Comanche tribe), Aimard returned to Paris in 1847--the same year his half-sister, Duchess de Choiseul-Pralin, was brutally murdered by her noble husband. Reconciliation with, or acknowledgement by, his biological family did not happen. After having served for a short while at the Garde Mobil, Aimard left again for the Americas. This time he was among the 150 miners hired by Duke de Raousset-Boulbon, who wanted to mine in Mexico. However, mining permits were not issued, and the duke decided "to free" the poor people of Mexico. He conquered Hermosillo on October 13, 1852. The duke fell severely ill on the first night of his conquest, and the Hermosillo villagers right away re-took their village. The miners fled and Aimard again returned to France.'. Seller Inventory # 003322

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Indian Chief: The Story of a Revolution

Publisher: Ward And Lock, London

Publication Date: 1861

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition