[LEWIS, Meriwether, and William CLARK].

Travels of Capts. Lewis & Clarke[sic], By Order of the Government of

Item #56748

[LEWIS, Meriwether, and William CLARK]. The Travels of Capts. Lewis & Clarke[sic], By Order of the Government of the United States, Performed in the Years 1804, 1805, & 1806, Being Upwards of Three Thousand Miles, From St. Louis, By Way of the Missouri, and Columbia Rivers, To the Pacific Ocean: Containing an Account of the Indian Tribes, Who Inhabit the Western Part of the Continent Unexplored, and Unknown Before.... Philadelphia: Hubbard Lester, 1809. 1st ed. 12mo bound in sixes(7 1/8 x 4 1/4inches). 1 folding engraved map (11 1/4 x 9 inches), 1 stipple engraved frontispiece by W.R. Jones, 4 unsigned etched plates with roulette work. Contemporary marbled sheep, neatly rebacked to style, the flat spine divided into six compartments by gilt fillets, the original black morocco lettering-piece in the second compartment. Provenance:J.C. Smith(an early inscription noting the purchase of the book from "an itinerant bookseller at the price of one dollar"); and the bookplate of Floyd B. Smith. LITERATURE OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 4a.1. WAGNER-CAMP 8:1. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 2282. SABIN 96499. STREETER SALE 3122. HOWES L321, "aa." SHAW & SHOEMAKER 17911. First edition of the so-called "Apocrypha edition" of Lewis and Clark complete with plates and the rare map - "the first in a long and mostly related series of unauthorized published accounts of the expedition."- (Literature of Lewis and Clark). In response to the growing curiosity of the public regarding the findings of Lewis and Clark and the delay in publication of the "authorized account" of their expedition, this compilation from previously published works, including Gass, Clark, Mackenzie, Carver, and Jefferson's MESSAGE... of 1806, was published in 1809, with a London edition following the next year. "The dearth of information on the adventures of the Corps of Discovery spawned a remarkable literature: the creation of seemingly authentic, but not quite honest accounts of the travels of Lewis and Clark ... It is probable that 'Hubbard Lester' is a pseudonym. Whoever this publisher was, he was clever. The 'Recommendation of the President' in this voume appeared to be Thomas Jefferson's endorsement, though it was nothing of the kind. It was merely a subterfuge to entice purchasers" (Literature of Lewis and Clark). It contains five plates, purporting to be of wester.

Price: $13,500.00