History of the Expedition
Item #83176
[LEWIS, Meriwether, and CLARK, William]. History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clarke to the Sources of the Missouri, Thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. Performed during the Years 1804-5-6. Dublin: J. Christie, 1817. 2 vols. [12], xxvii, [1], 588; [2], xii, [3]-643pp. plus engraved folding map, 5 engraved maps, and 1 engraved view. Modern calf in antique style, spines ruled in gilt, morocco spine labels. Small repairs to verso of title page and some pages of the subscriber list in vol. 1; light, mostly marginal dampstain to early leaves of vol. 1, only slightly affecting the map (which has a bit of marginal loss, and a slight crease through the title cartouche when printed); minor staining to a few other pages within; very occasional foxing. Early ownership signature on flyleaves of both volumes. Very good. Howes L-317. Wagner-Camp 13:6. Graff 2482. Sabin 40831. First Dublin edition, a reissue of the 1814 Bradford and Inskeep Philadelphia printing. The engraved plates present here are far cleaner than those encountered in the original edition, and are further enhanced by the presence of an additional plate depicting a view of the principal cascades of the Missouri River. This is the most famous of all western travels, and the cornerstone of any collection of Western Americana. Described by Wagner-Camp as "the definitive account of the most important exploration of the North American continent," this work finally appeared in print nearly eight years after the journey's completion, and then with the initial help of Nicholas Biddle, and ultimately under the editorship of Paul Allen. The expedition itself, the brainchild of Thomas Jefferson, was the final grand attempt to find a water route across the continent. While the search was unsuccessful, Lewis, Clark, and their companions were the first white men to cross the western half of North America. In total, the expedition covered some eight thousand miles in slightly more than twenty-eight months. They brought back the first reliable information about much of the area they traversed, made contact with the Indian inhabitants as a prelude to the expansion of the fur trade, and advanced by a quantum leap the geographical knowledge of the continent. Wagner-Camp notes that "this reissue of the Bradf.
Price: $45,000.00