Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2010 Issue
Antique Books and Ephemera from Samuel Gedge Ltd.
Oneida Indians perform in London.
Item 78 is a poster announcing a performance in London on February 1, 1819. Featured performers include "the American Indians of the Oneida tribe, who arrived lately in the ship Pacific, will exhibit the war dance, mode of combat, and dance of peace of the North American warriors, and deliver an Oneidan oration." The Oneidas were part of the Iroquois Nation of upstate New York, though many were later resettled in Wisconsin in one of many Indian removals. The broadside also notes that after the Oneida dances, there will be a performance of "a romantic Caledonian romance, in 3 acts, called the heart of Mid Lothian." £750 (US $1,185).
We conclude with a happy story, "The surprising life and voyage of Tom Lambert shewing how he left England miserable, and returned happy." This joyful tale was printed on a broadside around 1835. Tom Lambert was a wayward lad who left his drunken family and sailed for Tahiti. There he was so moved by the missionaries and converted Tahitians that he abandoned his wayward ways and became an upstanding citizen. Tom then returned to England, only to find that his once drunken family had also seen the light of religion and reformed from their sinful ways. This story is, of course, pure fiction. £450 (US $711).
Samuel Gedge Ltd. Rare Books may be reached at +44 (0)1263 722 555 or rarebooks@samuelgedge.com. Their website is www.samuelgedge.com.
