NARRATIVE OF THE MASSACRE, BY THE SAVAGES, OF THE WIFE AND CHILDREN OF THOMAS BALDWIN, WHO, SINCE THE MELANCHOLY PERIOD OF THE DESTRUCTION OF HIS UNFORTUNATE FAMILY, HAS FELT ENTIRELY ALONE, IN A HUT OF HIS OWN CONSTRUCTION, SECLUDED FROM HUMAN SOCIETY, IN THE EXTREME WESTERN PART OF THE STATE OF KENTUCKY.
New York: Martin and Wood, 1835. First edition. 8vo., [2], 3 - 24 pp., folding partially colored frontispiece. Fore edge untrimmed; text foxed and tanned; archival tissue repairs with no loss to the blank recto of the frontispiece. Later quarter calf with marbled paper over boards with a printed paper label affixed to the upper cover. Very good. Item #50733
The narrative states that Baldwin was born in North Carolina, 1748, and befriended Capt. Daniel Boon (sic); with his family, they accompanied Boone to the wilds of western Kentucky. In 1781, Baldwin's cabin was set afire. In their attempt to escape, his wife and one son were brutally murdered, and his other son and daughter were captured, with the son later to be burned at the stake. Written with such florid detail, it makes a compelling story. But as stated by Wright Howes (B-63) , " Perhaps based on some actual incident of border horror in early Kentucky, but unconvincingly and rhapsodically presented."" Ayer Collection No.18.
Price: $600.00