Details
HEAP, Gwinn Harris (1817-1887). Central Route to the Pacific, from the Valley of the Mississippi to California. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo and Co.; London: Trübner and Co., 1854.
8o (227 x 146 mm). Half-title, 16-page publisher's advertisements at end, publisher's advertisements printed on endpapers. Folding map of the central route from the Mississippi to California tipped in at rear pastedown and 13 tinted lithographed plates (some occasional spotting). Original black blind-stamped cloth, gilt-lettered on spine (rebacked, preserving original spine, some wear at edges). Provenance: William M. Fitzhugh, Jr. (bookplate).
FIRST EDITION. In 1853, E.F. Beale, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and Heap travelled westward from Missouri under a Congressional mandate to select lands suitable for use as Indian reservations. The narrative includes their observations of many unexplored areas as they journeyed through New Mexico and Utah, eventually ending in Los Angeles--as well as the account of Reverend James W. Brier, a pioneer emigrant who crossed Death Valley in 1849. "The most significant desert reference... relates to an account given by the Rev. James W. Brier--one of the original pioneer emigrants who crossed Death Valley in 1849... the earliest published account of Death Valley... of all the journals and diaries telling of the Mojave desert crossing, none appears comparable to the Heap in sheer readability and in picturesque descriptive quality" (Edward, Enduring Desert, pp. 110-11). The map, depicting the route from Missouri to California, is not inserted in most copies. Cowan II p.107; Graff 1837; Howes H-378; Sabin 31175; Streeter sale V:3177; Wagner-Camp-Becker 235; Wheat Mapping the Transmississippi West 808.
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FIRST EDITION. In 1853, E.F. Beale, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and Heap travelled westward from Missouri under a Congressional mandate to select lands suitable for use as Indian reservations. The narrative includes their observations of many unexplored areas as they journeyed through New Mexico and Utah, eventually ending in Los Angeles--as well as the account of Reverend James W. Brier, a pioneer emigrant who crossed Death Valley in 1849. "The most significant desert reference... relates to an account given by the Rev. James W. Brier--one of the original pioneer emigrants who crossed Death Valley in 1849... the earliest published account of Death Valley... of all the journals and diaries telling of the Mojave desert crossing, none appears comparable to the Heap in sheer readability and in picturesque descriptive quality" (Edward, Enduring Desert, pp. 110-11). The map, depicting the route from Missouri to California, is not inserted in most copies. Cowan II p.107; Graff 1837; Howes H-378; Sabin 31175; Streeter sale V:3177; Wagner-Camp-Becker 235; Wheat Mapping the Transmississippi West 808.