James Humphreys, the publisher of this edition, wrote to Jefferson from Philadelphia concerning his subscription, in a letter received by the latter on February 18, 1805: “The liberty I have taken of addressing to your Excellency the within proposals for Edwards’s W. Indies and for Johnson’s Dictionary, I trust will not be considered as too intrusive. On a former occasion, proposing to publish Edwards’s West Indies, I was honoured with your Excellency’s Signature to my subscription list-- The third Volume being then not published I declined pursuing it. Being now in possession of the whole Work, I have again issued proposals for it, and shall think myself flattered by your Excellency’s patronage and approbation of it as well as that of the Dictionary.”

Jefferson sent his subscription from Washington on June 9, 1806: “ Th: Jefferson with his compliments to m( ^~ r) Humphreys incloses him an order of the bank of the US. at this place on that at Philadelphia for 12.D. for Edwards’s history of the W. Indies, according to the note recieved from him. ”

The copy was bound for Jefferson by John March, Georgetown, on October 7, 1806, 5 volumes, calf, gilt, price $5.00.

Bryan Edwards, 1743-1800, was born in England, and later became associated with his uncle Zachary Bayly of Jamaica, a wealthy planter, whose estate he eventually inherited. Edwards became a leading figure in the Colonial Assembly, but returned to England in 1792, where he became a Caribbean merchant, a member of Parliament, and the founder of a bank. The first edition of this book, published in London in 1793 in two volumes quarto, was without the additional matter found in this edition, and without the atlas of plates, which was first issued with the second edition in 1794. The first edition to contain the Sketch of the author’s life, and the Tour through the several Islands of Barbadoes, St. Vincent, etc., begun by Edwards, and finished after his death by Sir William Young, was published in 1801. Ragatz describes Edwards’ work as “a classic in British Caribbean literature, and probably the most famous work in the field.”

Sir William Young, 1749-1815, second baronet, was born and educated in England. His father, the first baronet, was governor of Dominica, and Sir William became the proprietor of large estates in the West Indies which he visited in 1791, and wrote the account of his travels, first published in 1801 as an appendix to the second edition of Edwards’ An Historical Survey of the Island of Saint Domingo , edited after the author’s death by Young.

Arthur Broughton, d. 1796, English botanist, graduated M.D. at Edinburgh in 1779, and in 1780 was elected physician to the infirmary at Bristol. He went to Jamaica in 1783 on leave of absence but never returned, and died at Kingston in 1796. The first edition of Hortus Eastensis was published in Kingston in 1792 in quarto.

Daniel M’Kinnen (properly John Daniel Mackinnon), 1767-1830, was a member of the Clan Fingon, of which Daniel Mackinnon, the 30th Chief, had emigrated to Antigua. He was a barrister at law in Binfield, Berks, but visited the West Indies and the Bahamas, and published the first edition of his Description of the Bahama Islands in London in 1804.

[NOTE: The following paragraph and its quotation are out of place. They properly belong with entry no. 4050, beginning on IV:253-- Ed.] In 1823 John Pickering of Salem, Mass. (1777-1846, the eldest son of Timothy Pickering, q.v.), sent to Jefferson a copy of the new edition of Edwards’ work, recently published by the Massachusetts Historical Society. On February 4, 1823, he wrote to Jefferson: “Knowing the interest you take in the inquiries which are now going on respecting the Indian Languages, I beg leave to offer you a copy of the new edition of D ^r. Edwards’ Observations on the Mohegan Language , which is just published by our Historical Society, and constitutes a part of the present volume of their “Collections.” With the hope of stimulating our students of Indian, I have added a few Notes to this edition, and also a Comparative Vocabulary of various dialects. The words are given just as I found them in the various authors; which I mention lest I should be thought answerable for blunders which are none of my own. In all our Indian vocabularies there is a shocking want of accuracy and system, as you well know.”