Aguecheek

Boston: Shepard, Clark and Brown, 1859. 8vo.  190 x 125 mm., [7 1/2 x 5 inches].   336 pp.  Bound in original publisher's brown textured cloth.  Bookplate of Seton Hall College, dated June 25th, 1862.  Excellent copy.

First edition, also published under the title My Unknown Chum.  Charles Bullard Fairbanks was Boston born and breed and a devotee of historical religions.  He converted to Catholicism, studied to be ordained but withdrew before receiving his vows due to recurring ill health.  He died in December of 1859 in Paris and was buried in Montmarte Cemetery.

Using the (truncated) pseudonym "Aguecheek", a name taken from a character in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Fairbanks published his travel book based on his three visit to Europe.  Much of his text covered the years of the Risorgimento and offered Americans, both a complementary view of Papacy, a rarity for an American author, and insights into the struggle for Italian unification.  

The travel section of Fairbanks's book contain picturesque pieces based on his impressions of Genoa, Florence, Rome, London, and Paris, including a chapter on his "Philiosphy of Travel". Some of the chapters previosly appeared in the Boston Saturday Evening Review.  A second part of the book contains a series of  essays on a wide range of subjects including to name a few, an essay on Shakespeare, the difficulties of living in Paris, his philosophy of life, and two essays on boys and girls.

"This is a charming travel book by a sophisticated traveler who roamed the continent in the 1850's.  His highly personal narrative sweeps the reader into enthusiasm, whether the author is describing sights or elaborating on aspects of travel" (Smith).

Harold Smith.  American Travellers Abroad, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University, 1969, F3 p. 43.  Not in Pine Coffin. (Inventory #: 911)