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162. [SEQUOIAS, COASTAL] Fritz, Emanuel.
California Coast Redwoods
{Sequoia semprevirens(D. Don.) Endl.} An Annotated Bibliography
to and Including 1955 Compiled by Emanuel Fritz. xiv, [2],
267 pp. 9-1/2x6-3/4, red cloth with gilt spine and cover titles
and cover ornament, pictorial endpapers. First edition.
San Francisco: Foundation for American Resource Management, 1957.
Included with this book is 1) a letter by R. L. Youngs, Director
of the Forest Products Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture
to Jack Reynolds [see introduction to first catalog] regarding
his deceased uncle who helped Emanuel Fritz establish the laboratory,
2) several news clippings about the author of this bibliography
and 3) a copy of Redwood Reforestation Problems: An Experimental
Approach to Their Solution by Emanuel Fritz and James A. Rydelius,
Buena Park: Foundation for American Resource Management, 1966.
130 pp. in printed pictorial wrappers.
Emanuel Fritz was a Professor of Forestry at U.C. Berkeley who
served both as devoted conservationist and sought-after consultant
to the redwood industry. This bibliography of 1003 references
includes 90 citations under his name. He was not called "Mr.
Redwood" without ample justification. The second volume documents
Fritz's scientific approach to solution of reforestation problems.
Together two volumes and ephemera - all in fine condition. (60/90).
163. [SEQUOIAS, COASTAL] Leydet, Francois [editor].
The Last
Redwoods and the Parkland of Redwood Creek. Introduced by
Edgar and Peggy Wayburn. 160 pp. Profusely illustrated from color
photographs by James Rose and others. 9-1/2x6-1/2, paper-covered
boards with gilt spine title, pictorial dust jacket. [San Francisco]:
Sierra Club - Ballantine Books, [1969]. * Shirley, James Clifford.
The Redwoods of Coast and Sierra. [8], 9-74 pp. Twenty-two
paginated plates and four text figures. 9-1/4x6, cloth-backed,
paper-covered boards simulating redwood, with cover title in black.
First edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1936.
Together two books - both in fine condition. (40/70).
164. [SEQUOIAS, COASTAL] Palmquist, Peter E. [editor].
Redwood
and Lumbering in California Forests. [4], 5-112, [2] pp. Twenty-four
unpaginated plates from the original photographs, ten plates with
a complete inventory of all the known illustrations used in different
copies, two plates with five other illustrations and one facsimile
of the original title page. 8-1/4x10-1/2, beige linen with printed
spine title and mounted cover illustration. Limited edition of
600 copies printed by the Yolla Bolly Press.
San Francisco: The Book Club of California, [1983].
Prospectus laid in. This book is a reconstruction of a book published
in 1884 by Edgar Cherry & Co. of San Francisco in a very limited
edition. Only 26 copies are known to have survived. It was considered
to be one of the most elaborately illustrated books with original
photographs of the 19th century. Apparently copies were made up
one at a time and no two copies had exactly the same photographs.
Peter Palmquist located all the known copies and in addition to
selecting some of the best and most important to illustrate this
book, he provided a complete inventory of all the known photographs
used in the various copies in ten plates at the back of this book.
Fine condition. (70/100).
165. [SEQUOIAS] Stillman, G. K.
The Mammoth Trees of California.
(Calaveras County.) (Sequoia gigantea.) Presented to the readers
of the Cincinnati Weekly Times. Color engraving. 18x24-1/4, hinged
on board, matted and shrink-wrapped.
Cincinnati: Times Steam Job Color Press, n.d..
Currey and Kruska 246. Large, attractive, albeit artistically
altered, color engraving of the Calaveras Grove showing the hotel
and the major trees, both living and dead grouped around the hotel.
The famous "Mother of the Forest" with forty feet of
bark stripped off to be used in an exhibit in New York is shown
with the scaffolding still in place as well as the "Big Tree
Stump" without a structure over it [see Kruska, Sierra Nevada
Big Tree Exhibitions, item #92]. Despite the conditions that would
date the view in the 1850s, Currey and Kruska give the engraving
a probable date of the 1870s judged by the style, printing and
the paper. Very good condition.
(400/700).
166. [SEQUOIAS AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK] Photograph of the General
Sherman Tree. 18x9-1/2, matted, glazed and framed. No place:
no date. [c. 1930-40].
Original sepia-tone photograph by unidentified photographer [but
undoubtedly a professional] showing the entire General Sherman
Tree of Sequoia National Park. The General Sherman was considered
to be the oldest and the largest living thing in the world. Some
bristlecone pines are now estimated to be older but the General
Sherman tree still holds the record as the largest [and its age
of over 3500 years is still impressive]. Fine condition. (50/80).
167. [SEQUOIAS AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK]
United States. 52nd
Congress, 1st Session. Senate Report No. 1248. In the Senate of
the United States. February 2, 1893 - Ordered to be printed. Mr.
Felton, from the Select Committee on Forest Reservations in California,
submitted the following Report: [1], 2 - 82 pp. 9x5-3/4, disbound
and laid in clear plastic envelope. First edition. [Washington,
1893].
Currey and Kruska 351. One of the more interesting stories associated
with the Sierra and Sequoia National Park involves the Utopian
[socialist] scheme of the Kaweah colony. The "committee [mentioned
in the title above] was appointed to investigate the situation
of persons residing within the boundaries of the `forest reservations'
in 1California, established October 1, 1890. The investigation
focused on Sequoia National Park and the Kaweah Colony whose members
had filed land claims in the Giant Forest area several years before
the creation of the park [for more information on the Kaweah Colony
and its legal aftermath see chapter XIX of Farquhar's History
of the Sierra Nevada]...The committe recommended formation
of a commission...to determine fair compensation for the claimants"
[Currey and Kruska]. The resolution to form the commission failed
to pass Congress and the claimants were never compensated [Currey
and Kruska]. Several marginal chips at spine edge, two short pieces
of scotch tape wrapped around spine edges - otherwise in very
good condition.
(100/150).
168. [SEQUOIAS AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK] U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Division of Forestry, Gifford Pinchot, Forester. A Short Account
of the Big Trees of California. Prepared in the Division of
Forestry. 30 pp. Fifteen unpaginated plates from photographs and
two folded maps. 9x5-3/4, gray printed wrappers with cover title.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1900.
Currey and Kruska 361, 1st variant. Prepared by the Division
of Forestry for the Senate Committee on the Public Lands, this
is an overview of the giant sequoias compiled from several sources
including contemporary research by a Stanford professor. Prominent
features of this publication are the photographic illustrations
of the Calaveras, Mariposa and Stanislaus groves of Big trees
[including views of some of the logging practices] and two large
folded maps: one 27-1/2x37 in. Map showing Location of Big Tree
Groves in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California and one 23-1/2x27
in. map showing General Location of Big Tree Groves, California.
Library stamp on front wrapper and the versos of maps - otherwise
in near fine condition.
(100/150).
169. [SEQUOIAS AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK]
A Short Account of
the Big Trees of California. Prepared in the Division of Forestry,
U.S. Department of Agriculture. 30 pp. Fifteen unpaginated plates
from photographs and two folded maps. 9x5-3/4.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1900.
Currey and Kruska 361. This is the second variant of the previous
item. In addition to the title page difference described by Currey
and Kruska this variant does not have the letter of transmittal
or the list of illustrations [differences not described by Currey
and Kruska]. These differences were the way they were issued since
those items were on the versos of pages which are present in this
copy. This copy also lacks wrappers [as issued ? covers are not
described in Currey and Kruska]. Slight soiling and wear at edges
- otherwise in very good condition. (80/120).
170. [SEQUOIAS AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK] Farquhar, Francis.
The
Great California Tree. A Reproduction of a Leaflet First Printed
in New York, 1854. [9], 10-14, [2] pp. One paginated plate
reproduced from the original leaflet. 10-1/4x6-3/4, printed stiff
wrappers with cover title in red. Limited edition of 350 copies
printed by Lawton Kennedy.
San Francisco: Privately published, 1960.
Signed inscription by Francis Farquhar on front blank leaf. The
original of this reproduction is described as the second item
in Farquhar's selective bibliography and #101 of Currey and Kruska.
This leaflet was originally produced for a Big Tree exhibit in
New York. Soon after discovery, American entrepreneurs were plotting
how they could turn the trees into profit. In pursuit of one scheme,
the bark from one of the largest trees was stripped off in sections
for a distance of 60 feet, numbered and reassembled in a New York
exhibit hall. Visitors were then charged for admission to see
the hollow reconstruction of this giant tree. Back in California
the original tree was felled and the stump was used for the floor
of a dance hall. A detailed account of this tawdry episode in
California history is found in Dennis Kruska's Sierra Nevada
Big Tree Exhibitions, 1850-1903. Fine condition. (60/90).
171. [SEQUOIAS AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK] Ellsworth, Rodney Sydes.
The Giant Sequoia. An Account of the History and Characteristics
of the Big Trees of California. [12], 13-167 pp. Twelve unpaginated
plates from photographs of various sources. 7-3/4x5-1/2, orange
pictorial cloth with spine and cover titles. First edition. Oakland:
J. D. Berger, 1924. * Fry, Walter and John R. White. Big Trees.
xvi, 126 pp. Forty-one illustrations on 26 unpaginated plates.
8-1/2x5-1/2, green pictorial cloth with spine and cover titles.
Revised edition. Stanford: Stanford University Press, [1938].
* Johnston, Hank. They Felled the Redwoods. A Saga of Flumes
and Rails in the High Sierra. [4], 5-160 pp. Profusely illustrated
from photographs. 11x8-1/2, red paper-covered boards with silver
spine title, pictorial dust jacket. Revised second editon. Los
Angeles: Trans-Anglo Books, [1966]. * Johnston, Hank. The Whistle
Blows No More. Railroad Logging in the Sierra Nevada, 1874-1942.
[3], 4-160 pp. Profusely illustrated from photographs. 11x8-1/2,
green boards with gilt spine title, endpaper maps, pictorial dust
jacket. First edition. Glendale: Trans-Anglo Books, [1984]. *
Matthes, Francois E. Sequoia National Park. A Geological Album.
Edited by Fritiof Fryxell. viii, [2], 136 pp. Numerous illustrations
from various sources. 9-3/4x6-1/2, green cloth with white spine
title, pictorial dust jacket. First edition. Berkeley and Los
Angeles: University of California Press, 1950.
Together five volumes; editions as indicated above. First and
fourth signed by the authors. All in very good to fine condition.
(100/150).
172. SEYD, ERNEST.
California and Its Resources. A Work for
the Merchant, the Capitalist, and the Emigrant. [4], 168,
[1] pp. Twenty-two illustrations on eighteen unpaginated plates
with tissue guards, two folded maps [eight of the plates are color
lithographs, the others are black and white lithographs of wood
engravings]. 8-1/2x5-1/2, black pebbled cloth with gilt spine
and cover titles and ornamentation, all edges gilt. First edition.
London: Trubner and Co., 1858.
Cowan p.577; Currey and Kruska 296; Norris 3573. One of the early
books on the subject of California to highlight its many opportunities
and advantages besides the mining of gold. Although only three
paragraphs in the text are devoted to Yosemite and the big trees,
the description is stimulating enough to pique the interest of
the most complacent traveler. Two of the plates are of specimens
of trees in the Calaveras Grove and one is of Yosemite Valley.
These are the earliest illustrations of Yosemite and the big trees
to be published in a book. This is a superb copy with bright gilt,
crisp, clean pages and plates and tissue guards all present and
pristine, just a touch of rubbing to covers. (700/1000).
173. SHANKLAND, ROBERT.
Steve Mather of the National Parks.
Introduced by Gilbert Grovesnor. xii, 326, xxii, [2] pp. Twenty-four
unpaginated plates with illustrations from photographs and one
double-page map showing the existing and planned national parks
at the time of Mather's retirement. 8-1/2x5-1/2, green cloth with
gilt spine title and cover ornament, pictorial dust jacket. First
edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1951.
Biography of one of the key persons responsible for the development
of the National Park Service. [See Albright, Horace, item #4 for
others]. Slight wear of dust jacket, price clipped - otherwise
in fine condition. (50/80).
174. [SIERRA NEVADA]
Base Camp '52. 214, 30 pp. Numerous
photographic plates with titled tissue guards. 8-1/4x11, pictorial
wrappers with printed cover title.
[San Francisco: The Sierra Club], 1952 .
The book produced by members of the Sierra Club as a keepsake
for participants in Base Camp, 1952. Text is typed and mimeographed
but photographs appear to be printed. The Base Camp was in Evolution
Valley that year. Near fine condition.
(50/80).
175. [SIERRA NEVADA] Johnston, Verna.
The Naturalist's America.
Sierra Nevada. xiii, [7], 281 pp. Eight color plates, thirty-two
black and white plates and three maps. 8-1/4x5-3/4, blue cloth
with gilt spine title, endpaper maps and pictorial dust jacket.
First edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970. * Tresidder,
Mary Curry and Della Taylor Hoss. The Trees of Yosemite. A
Popular Account. xiv, 134 pp. Illustrated with 34 linoleum
block prints by Della Taylor Hoss. 9x6, decorated, stiff, fabricoid
wrappers with printed spine and cover titles. Revised edition.
Stanford: Stanford University Press, [1948]. * Wildflowers
of the Sierra. Yosemite Nature Notes Vol. 37 No. 6 24 pp.
Profusely illustrated in color. 9-1/4x6-1/4, pictorial wrappers.
Yosemite National Park: Yosemite Natural History Association,
n.d..
Together three items. The first book was nominated by John W.
Robinson as one of the 25 classics of the Sierra Nevada in his
article in the Winter 1976 issue of the Quarterly Newsletter
of the Book Club of California. The second is especially valued
for its esthetic linoleum block prints. First jacket price clipped;
all in very good to fine condition. (40/70).
176. [SIERRA NEVADA] Kauffman, Richard.
Gentle Wilderness.
The Sierra Nevada. Edited by David Brower. 167 pp. Eighty
paginated color plates from photographs by Richard Kauffman. 13-1/2x10-1/4,
green cloth with gilt spine and cover title, pictorial dust jacket.
Fourth printing. San Francisco: Sierra Club [1967].
The text is from John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra and
the color plates were produced by Richard Kauffman from his own
color negatives by a special process which allowed a much greater
range of color. This remains one of the really great scenic photography
books of all time. Fine condition. (50/80).
One of the best depictions of flume transportation
177. [SIERRA NEVADA] [Pictorial]. Graham, C. and R. Day.
A
Perilous Trip - Shooting a Flume in the Sierra Nevada. Double-page
hand-colored wood engraving. 22x15-1/2, removed from Harper's
Weekly, hinge-mounted on stiff board and matted.
New York: Harper's Weekly, June 2, 1877.
Dramatic view of two men riding a flume boat in a steep portion
of the Sierra Nevada. Part of the text in Harper's Weekly regarding
this engraving is reproduced and accompanies this item. This flume
was part of the huge mining operations of Mackay and Fair providing
timber for their Comstock Lode mines, buildings, etc. It was located
on the east side of the Sierra using Lake Tahoe for the water
and surrounding mountains for timber. The flume traversed the
steep east side of the Sierra from Lake Tahoe to Carson City,
a distance of fifteen miles. Such wooden flumes were used extensively
in the 19th century for carrying water to the gold mines and logs
from the Sierra forests. On the west side of the Sierra where
the slope was much gentler, the flumes were also regularly used
for transporting personnel but rarely on the east side where the
flumes were steep. The two men in this picture had a ride that
was as thrilling as any modern roller coaster or Olympic luge
ride but without any of the safety features. They made the fifteen
mile trip from Tahoe to Carson City in 11 minutes, averaging 82
miles an hour. They both vowed to never do it again. Few inconspicuous
defects at the original central fold - otherwise a fine and dramatic
image. (80/120).
178. [SIERRA NEVADA] Webster, Paul.
The Mighty Sierra. Portrait
of a Mountain World. [8], 9-286, [2] pp. Numerous illustrations
from color and black and white photographs, four maps. 11x8-1/2,
orange cloth with gilt spine title, pictorial dust jacket. Palo
Alto: American West Publishing Company, [1972]. * Johnson, Paul
C. Sierra Album. [5], 6-240 pp. Profusely illustrated from
black and white photographs from various sources. 11x8-1/4, two-tone
green cloth with gilt spine title, endpaper maps, pictorial dust
jacket. First edition. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
[1971].
Together two volumes: lavishly illustrated with photographs from
magnificent vistas to details of flora and fauna; from the earliest
photographs to modern times. Both in near fine to fine condition.
(50/80).
179. SMITH, BERTHA H.
Yosemite Legends. [8], 64, [3] pp.
Illustrated with drawings by Florence Lundberg. 9-1/2x6-1/4, decorated
cloth with gilt spine and cover titles, decorated endpapers. First
edition printed at the Tomoye Press.
San Francisco: Paul Elder and Company, [1904].
Attractive volume in an art nouveau style with several "legends"
of the Ah-Wah-Nee Indians [aka Yosemite Indians] as perceived
by the Anglo-author, Bertha Smith. Fine condition. (70/100).
00267
180. STARR, WALTER A., JR.
Guide to the John Muir Trail and
the High Sierra Region. xiv, 145, [5] pp. Frontispiece portrait
of the author and large folded map of the Sierra in the region
of the John Muir Trail. 8x5-1/4, green cloth with gilt spine and
cover titles, printed dust jacket. First edition. San Francisco:
The Sierra Club, 1934.
The scarce first edition of this celebrated guide to the high
Sierra and the John Muir Trail. The author was a devoted disciple
of the high Sierra who was well on his way to completing this
guide-book when his life came to a premature end in a presumed
climbing mishap in the Minarets. The book was then completed
by his father who was equally devoted to his son and the Sierra.
It has become a memorial that will undoubtedly last as long as
there are Sierra mountains and mankind to enjoy them. Slight darkening
to jacket; volume in fine condition. (70/100).
181. STERLING, GEORGE.
Yosemite. An Ode. [10], 16 pp. Five
unpaginated plates from photographs by W. E. Dassonville. 8-1/2x5-3/4,
blue paper-wrapped boards with gilt spine and cover titles and
front cover illustration in color. First edition, printed by Taylor
and Taylor. San Francisco: A. M. Robertson, 1916.
Note from John Howell-Books about this book with added RKL note
laid in. Donald Fleming described the origin of this poem in his
biographical sketch of Sterling that was published in the Quarterly
News-Letter of the Book Club of California [Fall 1972, p.90].
In 1914 Sterling went to New York in the forlorn hope of finessing
a financial fortune but encountered disaster instead. His "funds
were low. Sick and despairing, he went to Sag Harbor and wrote
a long letter to his old and admiring friend, Senator John D.
Phelan, begging help. He suggested that if Phelan would stake
him to a period of recuperation in Yosemite, he would work hard
and pay him back some way. The result was the poem Yosemite,
dedicated to the Senator..." This is considered one of Sterling's
finer poems. This publication of it is also sought for the outstanding
photographic illustrations by professional photographer Dassonville.
For a photograph of Sterling enjoying his rehabilitation in Yosemite
see Shirley Sargent's Yosemite and Its Innkeepers p.49
[item #157]. Fine condition.
(70/100).
182. STERN, ALEC.
Etchings of Yosemite by Alec Stern. Words
of John Muir. [2], 175, [1] pp. Forty major illustrations
of Yosemite and one portrait of John Muir from etchings by Alec
Stern as well as numerous smaller drawings to decorate the text.
11x8-1/2, vinyl-backed brown cloth with gilt spine and cover titles
and ornamentation. First edition limited to 1,000 copies. San
Mateo: Studio of Alec Stern, 1979 .
Quotations from John Muir are in calligraphy by John Preyer.
A Californian since infancy, Alec Stern graduated from Columbia
University and the California School of Fine Arts before joining
the art staff of the San Francisco Chronicle where he continued
to work for eight years. After World War II he established his
own printing and art studio in his home in San Mateo. [Hughes:
Artists in California, 1786-1940]. Handsome book with very attractive
art work by Alec Stern. Fine condition. (50/80).
183. TAYLOR, MRS. H. J.
Yosemite Indians and Other Sketches.
[12], 3-103, [2] pp. Ten paginated illustrations from various
sources. 9-1/2x6-1/4, cloth-backed tan boards with paper spine
label, printed cover titles. dust jacket with printed spine title.
Limited edition of 400 copies printed by Lawton Kennedy. San Francisco:
Johnck & Seeger, 1936.
Presentation copy inscribed the Taylor on front flyleaf, dated
October 1936. The author was the librarian at the Yosemite Museum
for many years and had the opportunity to meet and obtain first-hand
information from many elderly Yosemite Indians, early pioneers
and others in preparation of this book largely devoted to description
of the Yosemite Indians and biographical sketches of some of the
more important people associated with the history of Yosemite.
Fine condition.
(100/150).
184. TOLAND, M. B. M.
Tisayac of the Yosemite. Unpaginated
[total of 76 pages including plates]. Ten plates by various illustrators,
floral decorations by Rene De Quelin and illuminated half-title
by Will H. Low. 9x6-1/2, blue cloth with gilt spine and cover
titles and ornaments. First edition. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott
Company, [1891].
An interesting Victorian period piece centered around one of
the Indian legends of Yosemite. The legend is related in romantic,
pretentiously-styled verse and illustrated with classical Grecian-style
figures typical of the time. For a more realistic account of the
legend of Tis-sa-ack [aka Tisayac] see Galen Clark's Indians
of the Yosemite, [see item #20] and for another account see
Smith's Yosemite Legends [item #179]. Slight wear of cover
extremities - front hinge cracking, otherwise in fine condition.
(100/150).
185. TRASK, DR. JOHN B.
Report of the Geology of the Coast
Mountains and Part of the Sierra Nevada: Embracing Their Industrial
Resources in Agriculture and Mining. California Assembly Document
No. 9, Session of 1854. [7], 8-95 pp. 9x5-1/2, later red cloth
binding with gilt-titled red morocco spine label. First edition,
printed by B. B. Redding, state printer.
[Sacramento] California Assembly, 1854.
Overlooked by Cowan. Norris 3950. Wheat describes his earlier
paper before he was appointed state geologist but not this one.
This item illustrates the ease with which scientists moved from
one discipline to another in those days. John B. Trask was a physician
who emigrated to California in 1850 at the peak of the Gold Rush.
He gained geological experience as part of the Mexican boundary
survey team and then did some geological surveying on his own
in California. His earlier report of that work published in 1853
[Wheat #209] was undoubtedly influential in securing him the post
of state geologist. This report describes the coastal ranges and
valleys and location of minerals and mines throughout California.
It includes a description of a number of mines and an inventory
of all known operating gold mines [quartz mines as contrasted
to placer mines] in the state at that time. Trask is also to be
remembered for founding the California Academy of Sciences. Few
creases and small tears, scattered foxing, spine label worn -
otherwise in very good condition.
(150/250).
186. TRASK, DR. JOHN B.
Report on the Geology of Northern and
Southern California Embracing the Mineral and Agricultural Resources
of those Sections; with Statistics of the Northern, Southern and
Middle Mines. California Senate Document No. 14 Session of 1856.
[9], 10-66 pp. 9x5-3/4, Later black cloth with gilt-stamped morocco
spine label. First edition, printed by James Allen, state printer.
[Sacramento]: California Senate, 1856.
Cowan p.643. This report contains more details of the coastal
range north of San Francisco, the Sacramento Valley, San Bernardino
area and again a description of some of the mines with as complete
as possible inventory of the functioning gold mines of California.
The inventory reveals the shift that was taking place from placer
mining to quartz mining. There were 65 mines listed compared to
39 in 1854 and many of the mines listed in the 1854 list are not
to be found in the 1856 list. It is of further interest that Dr.
Trask was disabled from participating in the survey for almost
three weeks from a bout of malaria while in the Sacramento Valley.
This was Dr. Trask's last report as state geologist. Fine condition.
(100/150).
187. TYSON, PHILIP T.
Report of the Secretary of War, Communicating
Information in Relation to the Geology and Topography of California,
Senate Executive Document No. 47. [Memoir on the Geology
of California] 127, 47 pp. Thirteen folded maps, sections
and elevations. 8-3/4x5-3/4, modern half morocco and marbled boards
with gilt spine title. First edition.
Washington: U.S. Senate, 1850 .
Howes T455l; Wheat 212. Cowan describes the 1851 Baltimore printing
but not this one. Wheat considered this to be "...the earliest
work of true scientific research to emerge from the Gold Rush."
Although this first report on the geology of California appeared
initially in a Senate document, it was not sponsored or supported
by the federal government. Mr. Tyson was a respected Baltimore
scientist who traveled to California on his own to study its geology.
He accomplished a great deal in his four month stay in California
as judged by the information in his report, the accurate east-west
profiles that he drew of California topography and the map showing
his route of reconnaissance with geologic notations throughout.
After his return he graciously acceded to the request of Col.
J. J. Abert of the Corps of Topographical Engineers for a copy,
resulting in this publication. Slight water damage to bottom of
leaves, slight foxing to maps - otherwise a very good copy. (200/300).
188. VAN DYKE, JOHN C.
The Desert. Further Studies in Natural
Appearances. xx, 233 pp. Frontispiece plate from a photograph.
7x4-3/4, brown cloth with gilt spine title and gilt spine and
cover ornaments. First edition. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1901.
Edwards, The Enduring Desert, p. 241. A rhapsodic psalm
in praise of the silent peace and beauty of deserts written by
an Eastern art professor. Franklin Walker in Literary History
of Southern California describes this as the beginning of
the genre of desert-appreciation literature. Although this book
has been widely recognized for its literary value, the preface
could well serve as a rather prescient manifesto of environmentalism.
"What monstrous folly, think you, ever led Nature to create
her one great enemy - Man!...Today, every bird and beast and creeping
thing...know his civilization means their destruction...with the
coming of civilization, the grasses and the wild flowers perish,
the forest falls and its place is taken by brambles, the mountains
are blasted in the search for minerals, the plains are broken
by the plow and the soil is gradually washed into the rivers...Pure
sunlight requires for its existence pure air and the Old World
has little of it left. When you are in Rome again...notice how
dense the atmosphere is between you and Saint Peter's dome. That
same thick air is all over Europe. Ride up and over the high table
lands of Montana - one can still ride there for days without seeing
a trace of humanity - and how clear and scentless, how absolutely
intangible that skyblown, sunshot atmosphere is." [pp. vii-ix]
Fine condition. (50/80).
189. VISCHER, EDWARD.
Vischer's Pictorial of California. Landscape,
Trees and Forest Scenes. Grand Features of California Scenery,
Life Traffic and Customs. Photographs from the Original Drawings
in Five Series of Twelve Numbers Each, with a Supplement and Contributions
from Reliable Sources. [10], 8, [2], 9-132, [2], iii pp. Portfolio
of 110 mounted albumen photographs of drawings and one index card.
7-1/4x9, text bound in brown cloth with elaborate gilt cover decoration
and title, all edges gilt.
San Francisco: Joseph Winterburn & Company, 1870.
Cowan p.662; Currey and Kruska 381; Howes V131. This is the very
rare miniature edition mentioned by Cowan. Vischer used this version
for complimentary copies to a few friends. Although purchased
separately [years apart] the portfolio and text are almost a perfect
match in size and contents. The text volume describes the 60 plates
of the original series [a series of five installments of twelve
views each - 58 of which are present in the portfolio]. The front
pastedown has a printed list of the Supplement which is represented
in the portfolio with thirteen of the twenty views listed and
the back pastedown has a printed list of an Appendix to Vischer's
Pictorial of California which is represented in the portfolio
with 39 of the 41 views listed. The index card that is present
is for views 37 to 48 of the regular series. Both Cowan and Currey
and Kruska comment that very few of the known copies of Vischer's
have the same number of plates. However, in the miniature version
of Vischer's Pictorial, Cowan calls for 110 plates, the same number
as found in this copy. Tipped in the rear of this text, as described
in some copies by Currey and Kruska, is a single promotional sheet
folded to make four pages entitled "Opinions of the Press."
Edward Vischer was a native of Bavaria who emigrated to Mexico
and fifteen years later visited California for the first time
[1842] on business. Intrigued, he returned soon after the American
conquest and settled permanently. He made numerous sketches of
California scenes and in the 1860s began to publish them. At first
he used lithography for reproduction but abandoned that method
when one of the stones broke and he lost his investment of time
and energy. He then resorted to reproducing them by photography,
reversing the usual sequence of that time of photographing a scene
and then producing a drawing from the photograph for reproduction.
Instead he drew the scene and photographed the drawing for reproduction.
This has introduced some confusion about his career [James Hart
implied that he was an early photographer of California scenes
in his brief sketch in Companion to California]. The text
is in remarkably fine condition and the portfolio is in very good
condition with 110 plates of a total of 121 possible plates present.
There is slight warping of the mounting boards. (5000/8000).
190. VISCHER, EDWARD.
Vischer's Views of California. The Mammoth
Tree Grove, Calaveras County, California, And Its Avenues.
Thirteen cards including title page and twelve plates containing
25 lithographed illustrations with four sheets of explanatory
text. 11x13-1/2, housed in original envelope with reproduction
of the title page on the front. First edition.
San Francisco: Edward Vischer, [1862].
Cowan p.662; Currey and Kruska 376; Farquhar 5; Howes V132. One
of the scarcest and most-sought-after items on the subject of
the Sierra and the Sequoias. This meets Currey and Kruska's description
for the "B" variant of the third issue of the first
edition. The 24 lithographed images on the 12 plates are mounted,
as issued, on the lithographed plates which contain the captions
and imprints. The four pages of explanatory text are supplied
in high-quality facsimile although they are on separate sheets
rather than one sheet folded into four as the original was. The
envelope has several short tears and the illustration on the envelope
is darkened irregularly, one plate with marginal dampstain, otherwise
a very good copy of this rare item.
(4000/7000).
191. VISCHER, EDWARD.
Missions of Upper California 1872. Notes
on the California Missions, a Supplement to Vischer's Pictorial
of California, Dedicated to Its Patrons. [7], 4-44, viii,
iv pp. 12x9-1/4, white wrappers with cover title printed in red
and ornamented gilt border, laid in stiff tan wrappers with brown
cover title and ornate border. First edition.
San Francisco: Winterburn & Co., Printers and Electrotypers,
1872.
Cowan p.662. This is exactly as stated: a supplement to the text
of Vischer's Pictorial devoted exclusively to the subject of the
missions with reference to the plates in Vischer's Pictorial.
Vischer was especially fond of the missions and the missionaries.
He enjoyed their genial hospitality during his 1842 visit to Alta
California and was befriended by the Friars of the Dominican Convents
in the Phillipines when he was shipwrecked there on one of his
commercial travels. Outer wrappers a little soiled & darkened;
vol. in fine condition. (150/250).
192. WHITE, STEWART EDWARD.
The Pass. viii, 198 pp. Color
frontispiece, thirteen unpaginated plates from photographs and
one unpaginated map plate. 8-1/4x5-1/2, blue pictorial cloth with
spine and cover titles. First edition.
New York: The Outing Publishing Company, 1906.
Signed presentation inscription by the author on front free endpaper
as follows: "The Pass can now be found on geodetic survey
maps - Elizabeth Pass" [named for his wife]. T.L.S., dated
1945, from Stewart Edward White [with cover] laid in. Interesting
letter describing a personal anecdote related to Mark Twain typed
on Stewart's personal stationery with a Burlingame address. Farquhar
20a. Stewart Edward White was born in Michigan and moved to California
after completing his education. This book is not fiction but a
real account of a real life adventure of Stewart and his wife
in 1905 [two years after moving to California to live]. The site
of their adventure was the region of the middle fork of the Kaweah
River in the southern Sierra. Spine a bit faded; frontispiece
partially detached, else in near fine condition. (80/120).
193. WHITNEY, J. D.
Geological Survey of California, J. D.
Whitney, State Geologist. Geology. Volume I. Report of Progress
and Synopsis of the Field-Work from 1860 to 1864. xxvii, [1],
498 pp. Nine unpaginated plates and numerous illustrations in
the text [81 according to Farquhar]. 10-1/4x7-3/4, green pebbled
cloth with gilt spine titles and front cover ornamentation. First
edition, printed by the Caxton Press of Sherman & Co., Philadelphia.
[Sacramento]: Legislature of California, 1865.
Currey and Kruska 56; Farquhar 6. The geological survey was instituted
in 1860 by the state legislature, and J. D. Whitney was promptly
appointed as the state geologist. Whitney was successful in attracting
some of the top geological talent in the country, such as Clarence
King, William Brewer and Lorenzo Yates to work with him. The teams
surveyed the Coastal range and the Sierra including the gold-bearing
regions of the lower western slopes and the High Sierra. This
was the first detailed survey of the last mentioned area and resulted
in Whitney's name being attached to the highest peak. This is
his official report of the first five years of survey work which
includes the Yosemite region. Except for Plate I, which is of
fossils found in the auriferous gravels, the plates are of Yosemite
and the surrounding area [engraved from photographs by C. E. Watkins].
Hinges beginning to crack - otherwise this is an unusually clean,
bright and solid copy. (250/400).
194. WHITNEY, J. D.
Contributions to American Geology, Volume
I: The Auriferous Gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California.
xvi, 569 pp. Three unpaginated heliotype plates from photographs
by Carleton Watkins, one double-page plate of the Calaveras skull
and 20 unpaginated maps, diagrams, sections and plans. 11-1/2x9,
green pebble cloth with gilt spine and cover titles, uncut, top
edge gilt. First edition. Cambridge: University Press, 1880.
Published by J. D. Whitney after leaving California to assume
leadership of the School of Mines of Harvard University. While
previous published work contained his most famous error [excluding
any major role of glaciers in the formation of Yosemite Valley],
this one printed his second most famous error [declaring the "Calaveras
skull" an ancient fossil representative of prehistoric man].
Three of the plates in this large volume are scenes of hydraulic
mining operations by the celebrated photographer Carleton Watkins.
[See items #517-518 for original photographs of hydraulic mining
offered in this catalog.] Outside of the Calaveras skull error,
this is an impressive work both scientifically and typographically
and is of importance to several subjects: the Gold Rush, geology,
the Sierra, and the work of Josiah D. Whitney. Flap detached from
rear map pocket (but present); still in fine condition.
(300/500).