Recollections of an old soldier
Subtitle: the life of a soldier of the French and Revolutionary wars, containing many extraordinary occurrences relating to his own private history, and an account of some interesting events in the history of the times in which he lived, nowhere else recorded
By: by David Perry.
Publisher: Polyanthos Press, Inc.
Published: 1971
Place of publication: Cottonport, La. (On title page, Cottonport has New Orleans, La. stamped over it.)
Language: eng
Number of pages: 73
Subjects: Perry, David, b. 1741.; Soldiers -- United States -- Biography.; United States -- History -- French and Indian War, 1755-1763 -- Personal narratives.; United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Personal narratives.
Description: The Polyanthos edition was published by historian and publisher Winston DeVille in 1971 using the purchased plates of the early 1900s edition published by Mrs. John Ferris Alden (Mary Emma Bogue Alden), a great great granddaughter of Capt. David Perry. Although the inside text is printed exactly from those plates, DeVille altered the title (the words "Captain David Perry," are removed and placed as author with the words "Written by himself" removed entirely).

The full title of the 1822 first edition is:

"Recollections of an Old Soldier: The Life of Captain David Perry, a soldier of the French and Revolutionary Wars, Containing many extraordinary occurrences relating to his own private history, and an account of some interesting events in the history of the times in which he lived, nowhere else recorded. Written by himself."

The complete title of the Polyanthos edition with author is:

"Recollections of an Old Soldier: The life of a soldier of the French and Revolutionary Wars, Containing many extraordinary occurrences relating to his own private history, and an account of some interesting events in the history of the times in which he lived, nowhere else recorded. by Captain David Perry."

The cover reads:

"Recollections of an Old Soldier by Captain David Perry"

And there is cover art used for the first time, which is credited on the back cover in these words: "The cover design is from an original painting by A. Chappel, engraved by John C. McRae." On the front cover, the Polyanthos Press imprint is also given.

Note: Any edition that gives the number of pages as 73 is a form of the Alden edition, either an actual book, a microform, or a reprint of hers in 1971 by Winston DeVille using her plates but with changes to the title (as indicated above) and published under as his new imprint Polyathos Press, Cottonport, La. (later New Orleans, La.), or a microform of that one.

Anytime the pages given are 55, the book is either an actual first edition, published in 1822, or a microform of it. (Microforms include microfiche and microfilm.) The only other case is where the first edition book, or a later edition, has been scanned, but the number of pages still holds true as an identifying marker between the first edition (55 pages) or the Alden/Polyanthos editions (73 pages).

Other differences between the Alden and Polyanthos editions include the number of plates showing photographs. Due to the discovery and rise of photography in the 100 years since Captain Davd Perry died. Alden was able to take a photo of "the house at Ira, Vt. where David Perry died" (sometime before the house burned down in the early 1900s) and to include this photo with this caption, on the page opposite the title page. 

This photograph was reproduced when DeVille printed Alden's book plates in 1971. However there was also a photograph of David Perry's gravestone [n Ira, Vermont], that Alden had taken and included as a plate just after the concluding text of her edition. This plate was left out of the DeVille's publiation somehow. Thus her edition had two plates, and the Polyanthos only had the first one.

Since Mrs. Alden didn't republish the Advertisement/Preface by the printer Simeon Ide included in his publication of the 1822 first edition, this valuable piece of writing was not preserved beyong the very rare actual first editions, for some years. William Abbatt's The Magazine of History edition in 1928 included it, but that book was rare, too, and printed for a certain clientele: university libraries, historical societies, and a certain esoteric pool of subscribers. Since the Alden edition didn't republish the Advertisement, the Polyanthos Press edition doesn't contain it either

Ide's Advertisement remained almost unknown until the first edition was made more wide spred through microfilm and microfiche, and finally through the internet, beginning with The Captain David Perry Web Site, c1999-. (See this site for more information and images of these plates of photographs as well as the Advertisement and a discussion of its significance.)

Wintson Deville's production of Captain David Perry's memoir was his first publication under his new imprint Polyanthos Press, and he printed 1,000 copies according to memory. His aim not profit, and he took a loss. He chose the book for its intrinsic worth and wanted to preserve it. With a smile (reading between the lines), he related how he also shared the same birthday with Captain Perry, a deciding factor. (Source: Jones - DeVille correspondence.)

In both cases, Alden's and DeVille's, there was no thought of profit but only of the preservation of a priceless record, much like the intent of the original printer Simeon Ide, and of Captain David Perry himself.

(Source: The Captain David Perry Web Site c1999-, and correspondence between that site's creator Denise G. Jones and Winston DeVille.)

NOTE: For more information on Captain David Perry's book, click on “Recollections of an old soldier” AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE to go to the main Recollections page. Included are a description of Perry's life and times, excerpts, links, etc.
Notes: Imprint stamped on t.p.