Life and Remarkable Adventures of Israel Potter, A Native of Cranston, Rhode Island, Who Was a Soldier in the American Revolution.
Providence: Printed by J. Howard, 1824. First edition. Hardcover. A memoir of an American soldier who claimed that he fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill, was taken prisoner by the British and sent to England, where he had many unusual experiences & encounters, meeting both George III and Benjamin Franklin. The memoir, written in Potter's hopes of receiving a veteran's pension, inspired Melville's novel, 'Israel Potter', to which the author added additional encounters with illustrious parties.
Israel Potter (1754 - 1826) was in fact born in Cranston Rhode Island, and did indeed end up in England, but likely didn't fight at the Battle of Bunker Hill, although he did end up in England in the floating prison in Portsmouth. He escaped and apparently went to Paris to deliver a letter to Benjamin Franklin from a sympathizer to the American cause, but Franklin dismissed him, giving him money to return to America, which he did not do. Potter remained in England as the war ended, with increasingly difficult living conditions, working as a brick maker, scavenger and chair mender, as depicted in the frontispiece.
Small 8vo, 108pp, frontispiece woodcut portrait. Period quarter paper and marbled paper covered boards, some wear at spine and rear board where the foredge marble paper has been stripped away, otherwise a good + copy. OCLC: 3471740. Good + overall. Item #25953
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