| Item Description: | Ms. codex. - Title supplied by cataloguer. - Ascribed to Jean Baptiste Antoine Robert Le Boulanger by John Shea in his typed work "French-Illinois dictionary. From a manuscript of the early part of the eighteenth century" housed in JCB bibliographical file. This article, in turn, ascribes the work to Jesuit father Le Boulanger, "whose labors on the Illinois language are highly extolled in the Lettres edifiantes. - Recto of second front flyleaf contains note from former owner Henry C. Murphy, indicating that the ms. was purchased for him at the sale of books and mss. of M. [Jean Jacques] Marcel on May 9, 1859 by the firm of Hector Bossange & Son. - Note, signed "R. Martin," on recto of leaf [1]: "La langue dans laquelle est écrit ce volume est celle des Miamis-Illinois. Voyez au mot 'illinois' et au mot 'langues' dans le dictionnaire, pages 102 et 108." In response, H.C. Murphy adds note referring to an article by Mr. [Albert] Gallatin in the Archaeologia Americana Vol. II. - French-Miami Illinois dictionary and devotional texts in Illinois, compiled by Jean Baptiste Le Boulanger, possibly during the 1730s. The dictionary occupies 185 leaves, and lists approximately 3,000 words in French, from "abbaisser" to "vuider," followed by equivalents in Illinois. Devotional materials include prayers and a catechism in Illinois; explanations of the Ten Commandments and the symbols of the Apostles; translations of readings for the church year from the Gospels; and a translation of the Book of Genesis. There are also three pages of verb conjugations in Illinois. - Text is predominently written in two parallel columns on 185 unnumbered leaves, of which many are blank, and written on recto and/or verso only
|
|---|