All--
I am writing to inquire if anyone on the list is aware of scholarship discussing two histories of Virginia written in the 18th century which have recently come to my attention. I suspect all of us are familiar with the histories written by Beverley, Jones, Stith, and Randolph. But I've never seen much attention given to the two accounts of the history of the colony contained respectively in
George Sale (ca. 1697-1736) and continuators, An Universal History, from the Earliest Accounts of Time (which by the third edition consisted of 66 volumes); and Thomas Salmon (1697-1767) and continuators, Modern History: or, The Present State of All Nations (1st edition, 1725; 3rd edition 1744-1746).
Sale's was a "Grub street" project with multiple authors, and its publishing history has received at least some attention in the scholarship. I have been able to find less information about Salmon's, but I gather it had multiple authors too. Of the two, the account of Virginia in Sale is more extensive, but even so, the account of Virginia history in Salmon is extensive enough--roughly 70 pages. A lot of it looks to be cobbled together from other sources, but some of it seems to have been written specifically for the larger compendium, by someone with some first hand knowledge of the colony.
I am struck in reading them of the broad similarities with the more familiar histories by Beverley and Jones. It strikes me as at least worth considering that both Beverley and Jones thought of themselves as partaking of and contributing to the same broad genre of "Universal History" as did Sale and Salmon--in other words, as part of a trans-Atlantic enlightenment undertaking. This is all tangential to my current research project, but I have to admit I find the whole thing fascinating!
Does anyone know the provenance of either (or both) of these works?
Thanks!
Kevin
___________________________
Kevin R. Hardwick
Professor
Department of History, MSC 8001
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
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