AU TEXAS

Considerant, Victor

Verlag: Librairie Phalansterienne, Paris, 1854

[4],190,[2],191-194,4pp. plus two folding maps. Original printed wrappers. Approximately half of spine paper perished, neatly conserved in matching paper. Old French library stamp on titlepage. Moderate foxing. Overall very good. In a cloth chemise and half green morocco and cloth folding case, spine gilt. The rare first edition of Considerant's important account of the failed French Utopian socialist experiment near Dallas in the early 1850s, with a notable Texas map. The text includes a detailed discussion of the character and ethnic makeup of the population in Texas, the value of lands, climate, agricultural productions, etc. "Optimistic report of his visit to Texas and colonization plans. As a result of these extravagant promises, Considerant was able to acquire 57,000 acres near Dallas and to establish there - at Reunion - his Fourier communal experiment" - Howes. "This is an eminent philosopher's account of Texas and his audacious plans for a socialist colony there, the direct result of which was the establishment of La Reunion Colony near Dallas.In 1853 Considerant journeyed by horseback through Texas, and he returned to Europe full of plans for creating a Utopian socialist colony there" - BASIC TEXAS BOOKS. "Considerant proved to be a good observer. More than three-fourths of the book is devoted to Texas. Not only does he give a careful and full description of that state, but.this is a useful travel account and is an unusually full one to have come from a Latin visitor. It does not have the sting that many of the hypercritical accounts of this period contained" - Clark. The folding map of Texas shows the entire state, with Texas' numerous rivers, wagon roads in West Texas, and the Atlantic Pacific Railroad line running from Arkadelphia to El Paso. Cities and townships are noted across the state. In North Texas, the area of most concern to Considerant, the following communities are identified: Alton, McKinney, Dallas, Kaufmann, Fort Worth, and Cedar Springs. Though credited to Colton, the map was actually printed in Paris. The second folding map shows the entire continental United States, with Oklahoma naturally still Indian Territory, and the entire Pacific Northwest labeled "Oregon." The last four pages are a contemporary publisher's catalogue for Librairie Phalansterienne, which published other works by Considerant, as well as Fourier, Rousseau, and other social philosophers. A rare and valuable work, and the second copy ever handled by this firm. HOWES C697, "aa." BASIC TEXAS BOOKS 33. RAINES, p.53 (listing only later editions but not this first edition). CLARK III:92. EBERSTADT TEXAS 162:176. RADER 901. SABIN 15925. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers WRCAM55417

Bibliografische Details

Titel: AU TEXAS
Verlag: Librairie Phalansterienne, Paris
Erscheinungsdatum: 1854