CARVER, Jonathan.

Travels through the Interior Parts of North America. In the Years 1766

Item #78843

CARVER, Jonathan. Travels through the Interior Parts of North America. In the Years 1766, 1767, AND 1768. London: Printed for the Author, 1778. [20],xvi,543,[1]pp. plus two folding maps and four plates. Contemporary calf, gilt leather label, housed in custom red cloth slipcase, black leather spine, inner cloth chemise. Hinges cracked, edges and corners worn, spine lightly chipped. Contemporary ownership inscription on titlepage, light tanning and foxing. A good to very good copy in its original condition. HOWES C-215, "aa." Field 251. Streeter Sale 1772. Pilling, Proof-Sheets 634. Pilling, Algonquian p.68; Siouan, p.12 Gagnon Ii 325. Lande 108. Sabin 11184. Vail 654. Reese, Best Of The West 13 (ref). Reese & Osborn, Struggle for North America 88 (ref). Carver went farther west than any British explorer before the Revolution. He was seeking a transcontinental waterway, but mainly explored tributaries of the Mississippi. His book, however, is often given credit for being a catalyst for further exploration, influencing Mackenzie and Lewis and Clark. "A Plan of Captain Carver's Travels in the Interior Parts of North America" shows the headwaters of the Mississippi, lakes Michigan and Superior, and the land as far west as the Dakotas. The text contains the first mention of the word, "Oregon." Includes material relating to the languages of a number of Indian tribes. A cornerstone early western travel narrative.

Price: $6,000.00