The Cabin Book; or, Sketches of Life in Texas.

Sealsfield, Charles, 1793-1864

The Cabin Book; or, Sketches of Life in Texas.

Description

This is an English translation of the German text, which is a historical novel about the creation of the Republic of Texas. It consists of a series of sketches that depict the new Republic of Texas as a land of opportunity for immigrants.

Physical Description

155 p. ; 23 cm.

Creation Information

Sealsfield, Charles, 1793-1864 1844.

Context

This book is part of the collection entitled: Rare Book and Texana Collections and was provided by the UNT Libraries Special Collections to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 3104 times. More information about this book can be viewed below.

Author

Sealsfield, Charles, 1793-1864 Postl, Carl Anton

Translator

Mersch, Ch. Fr. Translated from the German by Professor Ch. Fr. Mersch.

Publisher

J. Winchester
Place of Publication: New York

Provided By

UNT Libraries Special Collections

The Special Collections Department collects and preserves rare and unique materials including rare books, oral histories, university archives, historical manuscripts, maps, microfilm, photographs, art and artifacts. The department is located in UNT's Willis Library in the fourth floor Reading Room.

Titles

Main Title: The Cabin Book; or, Sketches of Life in Texas.
Added Title: The cabin book.
Parallel Title: Das Cajütenbuch: oder nationale Charakteristiken.

Description

This is an English translation of the German text, which is a historical novel about the creation of the Republic of Texas. It consists of a series of sketches that depict the new Republic of Texas as a land of opportunity for immigrants.

Physical Description

155 p. ; 23 cm.

Notes

"by Seatsfield." Actual spelling is "Sealsfield."

Dedicated to Hon. Joel R. Poinsett, former United States Secretary of War, by the author.

Notes

Historical note about this book:

"The Cabin Book, which helped to motivate the Adelsverein and encouraged German migration to Texas, depicts a land both promising and dangerous, inhabited by legendary men, where 'you sow nails at night, and find horseshoes in the morning.' The work was immensely popular and remained one of the most widely read books in Texas throughout the nineteenth century. Highly derivative of the anonymous A Visit to Texas (1834), Sealsfield's heroic novel was the first important discussion of Texas in the German language; coupled with William Kennedy's Goethean Texas: The Rise, Progress, and Prospects of the Republic of Texas, which appeared the same year, it presents Texas as a rich field of opportunities. Although often considered overwhelmingly exuberant and optimistic, with a heavy admixture of manifest destiny, the book also warns that change and progress can be costly, even deadly, in personal terms. Some learned immigrants during Sealsfield's day took both the encouragement and the admonitions to heart. Approximately 100 printings of the novel, either as complete or revised editions or as excerpts in at least five languages, attest to its lasting appeal."
Glen E. Lich, "POSTL, CARL ANTON," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fpods), accessed August 15, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Subjects

Keywords

Library of Congress Subject Headings

University of North Texas Libraries Browse Structure

Language

English

Item Type

Book

Identifier

Unique identifying numbers for this book in the Portal or other systems.

OCLC: 2081571
UNT Catalog No.: b1654324 | View in Discover
Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth14393

Relationships

Das Cajütenbuch: oder nationale Charakteristiken., ark:/67531/metapth202839
The cabin book: or, sketches of life in Texas, ark:/67531/metapth202838

Collections

This book is part of the following collection of related materials.

Rare Book and Texana Collections

These materials include a 1633 map, America Noviter Delineata; H. K. Yoakum's History of Texas, and Exploration of the Red River of Louisiana, in the year 1852 by Randolph B. Marcy.

Related Items

Das Cajütenbuch: oder nationale Charakteristiken. (Book)

This German text is a historical novel about the creation of the Republic of Texas. It consists of a series of sketches that depict the new Republic of Texas as a land of opportunity for immigrants.

Relationship to this item: (Has Version)

Das Cajütenbuch: oder nationale Charakteristiken., ark:/67531/metapth202839