(Washington, George)

The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane [by Alain-René Le Sage]. A New Translation by the Author of Roderick Random. ... In Four Volumes. The Sixth Edition. Volume III. London: Printed for W. Strahan, J. Rivington, T. Davies, W. Johnston, T. Longman, W. Nicoll, Richardson & Urquahart, G. Robinson, T. Cadell, and R. Baldwin, [1785]



12mo (6 7/8 x 4 in.; 175 x 102 mm). Engraved frontispiece, 3 engraved plates; light foxing throughout, small loss to fore-edge of D9. Contemporary speckled sheep, spine gilt in six compartments with red and green morocco labels, plain endpapers, red-sprinkled edges; rebacked with most of the original spine laid down, corners restored, extremities rubbed, front free endpaper replace, bookplate removed. Calf folding-case gilt.

George Washington (signature) — Bushrod Washington (bequest) — John A. Washington (bequest) — John A. Washington Jr. (bequest) — Lawrence Washington (bequest; his sale of Washingtoniana, M. Thomas & Sons, Philadelphia, 28 November 1876, lot 6) — George Taylor Bentley (Freeman's, 15 June 1927) — Barton W. Currie (Parke-Bernet, 8 May 1963, lot 476) — Sotheby's, 24 November 1980, lot 61 (undesignated consignor) — Victor and Irene Murr Jacobs (Sotheby's, 29 October 1996, lot 4)

Ford, Inventory of the Contents of Mount Vernon, p. 29; Lane, Inventory of Washington's Library, p. 486

The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane [by Alain-René Le Sage]. A New Translation by the Author of Roderick Random. ... In Four Volumes. The Sixth Edition. Volume III. London: Printed for W. Strahan, J. Rivington, T. Davies, W. Johnston, T. Longman, W. Nicoll, Richardson & Urquahart, G. Robinson, T. Cadell, and R. Baldwin, [1785] 12mo (6 7/8 x 4 in.; 175 x 102 mm). Engraved frontispiece, 3 engraved plates; light foxing throughout, small loss to fore-edge of D9. Contemporary speckled sheep, spine gilt in six compartments with red and green morocco labels, plain endpapers, red-sprinkled edges; rebacked with most of the original spine laid down, corners restored, extremities rubbed, front free endpaper replace, bookplate removed. Calf folding-case gilt.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Association copy, from the library of George Washington and signed by him ("Go: Washington") on the title-page.

Gil Blas was one of the few works of contemporary fiction in the Mount Vernon library. Le Sage's picaresque romance captivated a large English readership, including President Washington, through the translation of Tobias Smollett. He was familiar enough with the novel to refer to one of its comic episodes—which appears in the present third volume—as justification for retiring without seeking a third term as chief executive. In the novel, Gil Blas takes the position of personal secretary to the Archbishop of Grenada and is promised a reward if he alerts the Archbishop when his 'pen smack[s] of old age" and his "genius flag[s]" (p. 23); but when Gil Blas carries out this charge, the Archbishop angrily dismisses him.

Henrietta Liston, wife of the British Minister to the United States, recorded her impressions of Washington in a private journal, and she remembered that after questioning his intention to retire from the presidency, "he smiling asked if I remembered Gil Blas's story of the Archbishop of Grenada? 'I feared," he said, 'the same thing might happen to me'" ("Journal of Washington's Resignation, Retirement, and Death," ed. Nicholls, in Pennsylvania Magazine 96:511–20).

Washington's four-volume set of Gil Blas remained together until sometime after the sale of Barton Currie's library in 1963. The fourth volume last appeared at public auction at Sotheby's, 29 October 1986, and the first and second volumes were sold here on 5 June 2001 as part of the Library of Marshall B. Coyne.