1888 – Picturesque California, John Muir | First Edition Folios – Illustrated Rocky Mountains

John Muir, also known as “John of the Mountains” and “Father of the National Parks”, was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, environmental philosopher, and an early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States. One of the heroes of America’s conservation movement, Muir deserves much of the credit for making the Yosemite Valley a protected national park and for alerting Americans to the need to protect this and other natural wonders.

The Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Slope, is beautifully illustrated with numerous etchings, photogravures, and wood engravings!

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Picturesque California: The Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Slope
• Author(s): John Muir
• Publisher: New York; San Francisco: J. Dewing Publishing Company
• Edition: First edition, [1888]
• Binding: Leather
• Format: Folio; three volumes
• Size:  15.5 in x 12.25 in (39.4 cm x 31.1 cm)
• Collation: 478 pp, continuous pagination
• Illustrations: Numerous full-page steel engravings and in-text figures
• Contents Include:
  • Views of Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada, and the Pacific Slope
  • Narrative segments reflecting late 19th-century Western thought
  • Artistic renderings of Western topography

Condition:

Very Good. Quarter leather binding with cloth boards; leather slightly pulled from hinges on volume one, structurally sound. Corners rubbed but firm. Gilt on boards preserved. Internal pages clean and illustrations sharp.

Why Collect This?

• Large folio format uncommon for Western Americana literature
• Steel-engraved illustrations in all volumes

Item Number: #50011