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x, [2], 443 pp. With 8 chromolithographed plates with tissue guards, from drawings by the author. 8½x5½, 20th century half morocco & cloth, spine ruled in gilt, raised bands, top edge gilt. First Edition.

One of the most sought-after books on the California Gold Rush, noteworthy both for the striking color lithographs and the entertaining text. Wheat declares it an "excellent narrative of experiences in the diggings, with colored lithographic plates of great beauty and importance. The New York edition...lacked these remarkable plates" - Wheat. Kurutz quotes Howell as calling the book one of the best descriptions of life in the mines, and lauds both the graphic excellence of the plates as well as their revelation of the author's wry sense of humor. Cowan p.416; Graff 2685; Howes M299; Kurutz 329a; Wheat Gold Rush 137. With the bookplate of Emelia Marryat. Frank Marryat, the son of navy captain and adventure novelist Frederick Marryat, had a sister Emelia, a minor novelist in her own write, and it seems undoubtedly her bookplate.