Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California...A Tourist's Guide to the Yo-Semite Valley

New York and San Francisco: A. Roman and Company, 1870. Hardcover. Very good. Third edition, first printing of "the first book-length description of the state's natural attractions and the first work to describe the big trees and the Yosemite region in detail" (Currey & Kruska 164). 292 pp + [4] pp publisher's ads, illustrated with more than 100 engravings in the text. Original green cloth, with beveled edges, bright gilt lettering on spine and front board. Corners rubbed, one gathering loosening slightly, but still a very attractive. sound copy. Hutchings came to California for the Gold Rush in 1849, lived for several years in the mining regions, and eventually became one of the most dedicated and energetic promoters of California and particularly the Yosemite Valley. He commissioned illustrations for his Hutchings California Magazine (published from 1856 to 1861), which "preserved a good deal of material depicting the life and scenes of California in the decade following the Gold Rush...especially with respect to Yosemite, the Big Trees, and other scenic wonders (Farquhar 4). The illustrations and much of the text of the first edition of Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity were extracted from the magazine. This edition, published after the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, includes revisions and additions to many chapters, particularly with regard to the to travel routes and accommodations, costs, and other logistical considerations for travelers.Currey & Kruska 164; Farquhar 4f.