Gift of
Buffy Cafritz

The Jefferson Collection in the Library of Congress

Mémoires Historiques sur la Louisiane, contenant ce qui y est arrivé de plus mémorable depuis l’année 1687... Paris, 1753. 2 Volumes. [4],x,261; [4],338pp. Plus two double-sheet plates, five plans (on four plates), and folding engraved map of Louisiana. 12mo. Contemporary mottled calf, leather labels, spines gilt.

A rare and important early history of French Louisiana. One of the best contemporary histories based on the author’s twenty-five year residence in the colony as an army officer, engineer, and planter. The first volume describes the natural history and life of the inhabitants, Europeans and Indians; and the second volume is devoted to the military and political history of the colony from about 1717 to 1740, especially the Indian wars. Dumont’s work is the finest reliable account of much of Louisiana. The engraved plates depict four different tree specimens, while the wonderful plans show New Orleans and Fort Rozalie des Natchez, as well as a typical Louisiana house plan. The handsome folding map of Louisiana notes the different Indian tribes and villages in the regions. This is one of the few reliable first-hand accounts of French Louisiana in the mid-nineteenth century, and far rarer than the other works on Louisiana fron the period.