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HENRY A. V. POST — A VISIT TO GREECE AND CONSTANTINOPLENEW YORK, 1830 — FIRST EDITIONSCARCE AMERICAN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE GREEK WAR OF INDEPENDENCEAUTHOR SERVED AS AN AGENT OF THE NEW YORK GREEK COMMITTEEAMERICAN HUMANITARIAN RELIEF MISSION TO GREECE, 1827–1828EARLY CLOTH-BACKED BOARDS • UNTRIMMEDEX-ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY
POST, Henry A. V. A Visit to Greece and Constantinople, in the Year 1827–8.
New York: Sleight & Robinson, Printers; sold by G. & C. & H. Carvill and others, 1830.
First edition.
Octavo. vii, 367 pp. Complete.
A scarce American eyewitness account of Greece during the final years of the Greek War of Independence, written by Henry A. V. Post, one of the agents of the New York Greek Committee, who traveled to Greece as part of an American humanitarian relief effort.
The book is considerably more than a conventional Mediterranean travel narrative. Post participated directly in the distribution of provisions and clothing to Greek civilians suffering from the effects of prolonged warfare and records both the political and humanitarian conditions he encountered.
Sotheby’s described the work in 2021 as rare, noting that it had appeared at sale only once in the preceding twenty years.
THE NEW YORK GREEK COMMITTEE AND AMERICAN PHILHELLENISM
Post traveled to Greece aboard the relief ship Jane in 1827 as a representative of the New York Greek Committee.
American enthusiasm for the Greek independence movement had generated Greek Committees in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. These organizations raised funds and material support for the Greek cause and, as the humanitarian crisis intensified, increasingly directed aid toward civilians suffering from famine and war.
Sotheby’s specifically identifies Post as one of the small number of American volunteers who traveled to Greece to coordinate this relief effort, distributing provisions and clothing among the population.
Post’s account therefore occupies an unusual position at the intersection of:
Greek Revolutionary history, American philhellenism, early international humanitarian relief, and nineteenth-century Mediterranean travel.
GREECE, SMYRNA AND CONSTANTINOPLE
The narrative records Post’s travels through Greece during 1827–1828 and extends to Smyrna and Constantinople, combining political and social observation with descriptions of contemporary life in the eastern Mediterranean and Ottoman world.
Post writes not merely as a tourist but as an American observer directly involved in relief work during the conflict.
The New York Public Library catalogs the volume under both Greece — History — War of Independence, 1821–1829 and Istanbul — Description and travel, confirming the dual historical and travel interest of the work.
MODERN GREEK LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE
The appendix contains material of additional interest to collectors of early modern Greek studies, including:
- a modern Greek ode
- a list of principal modern Greek authors and their works
- material drawn largely from lectures by Iakobakes Rizos
Sotheby’s specifically noted this appendix in both its 2008 and 2021 catalogue descriptions.
BINDING
Bound in early dark cloth-backed drab paper-covered boards, with a small paper shelf label near the head of the spine.
The text block remains untrimmed, preserving irregular deckled edges and generous margins.
The survival of an early utilitarian binding is attractive bibliographically even though it is considerably worn.
PROVENANCE
The title page bears an early manuscript ownership inscription which appears to read:
“Geo. H. Barstow”
followed by:
“No. 533.”
The identity of this owner has not been conclusively established, and no attribution is claimed.
The volume later entered the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, whose bookplate, stamps and accession or shelf markings remain present.
A red circular ticket of:
Joseph McDonough, Bookseller, Albany, N.Y.
is also retained.
Together these marks document the book’s circulation through nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American private, bookselling and institutional collections.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
Contominas 569.
Droulia 1888.
Sotheby’s additionally noted the work as not in Blackmer, Weber, or Atabey, three major reference collections for travel in Greece and the Levant.
CONDITION
Complete but heavily worn and foxed; offered as an ex-library copy.
The early paper-covered boards are rubbed, soiled and worn, with losses along the edges and corners exposing the underlying board.
The dark cloth spine is rubbed and creased, with wear at the head and foot.
Both boards remain attached and the binding remains intact, although the worn board edges and corners should be handled carefully.
Internally, there is moderate to heavy foxing and age-toning throughout, with scattered stains, handling marks and occasional creases.
Some leaves show marginal staining and localized discoloration, and there is visible moisture staining toward the rear.
The untrimmed edges have occasional small chips, folds and short marginal tears.
The title page bears the early ownership inscription, Enoch Pratt Free Library stamp and manuscript notation.
Library bookplate, stamps, accession markings and shelf labels remain present.
Rear endleaves and pastedown show particularly heavy foxing and toning.
Complete: vii, 367 pp.
Please examine all photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.
A scarce American first edition documenting the Greek War of Independence from the unusual perspective of an actual New York Greek Committee relief agent, retaining its early boards, untrimmed edges and substantial American provenance.
