Charles Botta (1766-1837) Italian, History of the War of Independence, 1837 Edition. 

Size: 8 7/8 X 6 X 1 in. 

This two-volume set by Charles Botta is titled History of the War of Independence of the United States of America, translated from the Italian by George Alexander Otis, Esq and published in New Haven, Connecticut by Nathan Whiting in 1837, and it is the fifth edition, according to the copyright page. Charles Botta (1766 - 1837) was an Italian historian born in the Piedmont region of Italy; he was arrested as a spy for the French during the French Revolution and imprisoned in Italy, then released in 1795 and moved to France, only to return to Italy as a surgeon in the French army. He joined the expedition to Corfu and favored the French annexation of Piedmont, and he started out as an ardent supporter of Napoleon, but changed his views after he realized the necessity for the union of all Italians and for the freedom of the country from foreign control.  He became a French citizen around 1814 and eventually was elected to the American Philosophical Society and the American Antiquarian Society, and he published a four-volume history of Italy from 1789 to 1814, which made him famous. The first edition of the History of the War of Independence of the United States was based on contemporary documents and materials supplied by Lafayette, and the first English translation was published in Philadelphia in 1820. The two volumes appear to have been rebacked in an antique-style calf, with horizontal gilt rules and the title and 1837 date in gilt on the spine, blank endpapers, a frontis engraving of the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth in 1620 in the first volume, and there are 472 pages of text in Volume I and 464 pages of text in Volume II. Both volumes are inscribed “William Milford” at the top of the title page, Volume I has “William McLaren gift” inscribed on a front endpaper and “William MacLaren from his affectionate aunty Milford” on the page before the frontispiece, there’s a protective tissue guard after the frontis engraving, a dedication to the American Philosophical Society after the copyright page, a list of engravings on the next page, then a Notice of the Author, a two-page Translator’s Notice to the Second Edition, a two-page Table of Contents, and the text. The second volume has a two-page Table of Contents after the copyright page, a Biography of the Author after the last page of text, and a two-page List of Works - a bibliography - at the end of the book. Both volumes measure 8 7/8 x 6 inches wide and are in very good condition. The bindings are tight and the pages and text and engravings are pretty clean, with light browning here and there, a small tear below the inscription on the title page in Volume I, and dampstains at the top of pages 452 to 468 in the second volume. Prices range up to $3500 for first editions from 1820, which are rare, up to $300 for an edition from 1847, and this is only the fifth edition.