CALIFORNIA AND ITS GOLD REGIONS; WITH A GEOGRAPHICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW OF THE COUNTRY, ITS MINERAL AND AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES...WITH A MAP OF THE U. STATES AND CALIFORNIA

Book Description

New York: Stringer and Townsend, 1849.. 144p. plus frontispiece engraving and large folding frontispiece map. Modern three-quarter polished calf and marbled boards, raised bands, gilt morocco label. Very minor foxing, early tear in inner margin of map, professionally repaired. Near fine. According to Wheat, "One of the best of the early books on California printed for gold seekers." Robinson, who had produced a book on the Mexican War shortly before, drew on both official and unofficial sources for this book. Kurutz calls this work "a fine anthology of several of the earliest reports of the gold discovery, conditions in California, history of the region, and ways to reach the diggings...The excellent map is important for delineating the various sea and overland routes to California." The gold region is tinted yellow on the map, as well as on the inset "Map of the Gold Region," and the overland routes our drawn in blue. Among the sources drawn on are reports by Mason, Fremont, Larkin, Emory, and Kearny; and newspaper accounts. Robinson discusses several routes to California, recommending the northern Overland Trail as the best. Howes, Kurutz, and Sabin note two issues, of 137 and 144 pages, of which this is the latter, printed with an appendix on pages 125- 144. This copy also includes the frontispiece view of San Francisco which Howes notes is "sometimes found, inserted, but was not issued with the book." HOWES R366, "b." WHEAT GOLD RUSH 168. WHEAT GOLD REGIONS 70. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 591. GRAFF 3527. COWAN, p.537. KURUTZ 539a. SABIN 72070.

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