BASQUE, ALPHABET PRIMITIVE LANGUAGE SPAIN/1829 SIGNED

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BASQUE, ALPHABET PRIMITIVE LANGUAGE SPAIN/1829 SIGNED INSCRIBED BY AMBASSADOR GEORGE ERVING/VERY RARE 1ST THE ALPHABET OF THE PRIMITIVE LANGUAGE OF SPAIN, AND A PHILOSOPHICAL EXAMINATION OF THE ANTIQUITY AND CIVILIZATION OF THE BASQUE PEOPLE: AN EXTRACT FROM THE WORKS OF DON JUAN BAUTISTA DE ERRO. TRANSLATED BY GEORGE W. ERVING. Boston: Isaac R. Butts, 1829. First Edition. Signed by the translator. Very Rare. A very rare and fascinating book about the Basque language, translated by George Erving, who was sent to Spain as the American Ambassador by Thomas Jefferson and who lived in the country for many years. The book is signed by the translator on the title page: "To Ashbury Dickins, from his... G. W. Erving." A small newspaper clipping about the Hon. Asbury Dickins, Secretary of U. S. Senate 1836-61, is glued to the title page. Published more than 180 years ago, this First Edition book is now exceedingly rare, as there are no other First Edition copies listed for sale on the internet, at any price. Therefore it is now virtually inobtainable. The 1987 reprint sells for $208. Another First Edition, signed book is not likely to come up for sale again soon on ebay. From the Translator's Preface: "A personal acquaintance with Mr. Erro during my late residence in Spain (from 1816 to 1819) and admiration of his extraordinary genius, first induced me to examine with attention those of his literary labors from which the following pages are an 'extract'; the impressions in favor of his opinions as to the antiqueness of the basque language which I at that time received, were very much confirmed, when afterwards (in 1821) I found him in Paris applying his system with success, to the explanation of the legends on various Etruscan monuments existing in the French national library; these having baffled all the ingenuity of the antiquaries and philologists, had long since been abandoned as wholly inexplicable: from this highly interesting occupation Mr. Erro was called away by the political revolution in his country; having returned to Spain and entered into the councils of his king, he has left incomplete a work, which had it been pursued by his powerful and philosophic intellect, and with his indefatigable industry and research, could not but have produced the most satisfactory results, and have established his own reputation amongst the most illustrious in the republic of letters. From the period here referred to, Mr. Erro having continued to be an influential member of the Spanish administration, his political character has become 'European'...I have thought that some account of the system of this learned philologist, might be acceptable in the United States, where certainly the philosophy of language is cultivated by men of as high qualification in that most important department of science, as are any to be found in Europe - to those then I present the following 'extracts' from the principal works of Mr. Erro..." Contents include: Account of the attempts heretofore made to explain the primitive alphabetical characters of Spain and to interpret its inscriptions and medals; Antiqueness of the art of writing; Origin of writing and antiqueness of Celtiberian Alphabet; Error of those who expect to find in the Phoenecian and Grecian languages and alphabets the origin of the alphabet and idiom of primitive Spain; Greek alphabet is of Spanish origin; Demonstration that Greek alphabet is derived from Basque; Application of preceding observations; Account of some learned men to discover the primitive language; Primitive language infused by the Creator and not formed by man; Confusion of Babel cannot be opposed as a proof against the existence of primitive language; Solution of some objections to the foregoing opinions; Rules necessary to be observed in the analysis of words and of the true Euphony; Numbers or the first part of the system of the universe; Numbers in continuation According to famous : "ERVING, George W., diplomatist, born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1771; died in New York City i... read more

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