Umfreville, Edward | "The Present State of Hudson’s Bay"; the Berkeley Castle–Brooke-Hitching copy

Umfreville, Edward

The Present State of Hudson’s Bay. Containing a Full Description of That Settlement, and the Adjacent Country, and Likewise of the Fur Trade, with Hints for its Improvement. London: Charles Stalker, 1790

8vo (230 x 140 mm, uncut). Half-title, engraved plate, 2 folding letterpress tables, 2pp. advertisements; light spotting. Original light blue paper boards, white paper spine; edges lightly rubbed. Housed in a blue cloth slipcase.

First edition, the Berkeley Castle–Brooke-Hitching copy. Although somewhat biased against the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, this account gives an interesting picture of the Company's business methods, and is one of the first published accounts of the fur trade. Umfreville spent eleven years in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company and four years in the Canada fur trade.

REFERENCES:

Howes U10; Sabin 97702

PROVENANCE:

Earl of Berkeley, Berkeley Castle (Sotheby's London, 8 May 1986, lot 147) — Franklin Brooke-Hitching (his sale, Sotheby's London, 30 September 2015, lot 1297)