An Essay on Robert E. Cowan's a Bibliography of California and the Pacific West, 1510-1906

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1993 Book. Fine. Hardcover. First edition. One of 390 copies containing an original leaf from the 1914 first edition of Cowan's work, the first publication issued by The Book Club of California. . Large octavo. Pp. [6], 63, [3]. Two photographic portraits, facsimile, original leaf tipped in. Text printed in red & black. Gray cloth-backed boards, printed in black, printed paper label on front cover. A very fine copy. This title is the Club's 200th publication, produced in commemoration of its first, and provides an informative dissertation on the history and evolution of the definitive California bibliography and the life of its author, Robert E. Cowan (1862-1942). A contemporary of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Theodore Hittell, and Zoeth Skinner Eldredge, the Canadian-born Cowan was one of San Francisco's foremost booksellers who became the leading expert of his day on California bibliography. He also authored noted works on the Spanish Press and the Chinese presence in California. Designed by Lewis Allen and printed by the Anchor & Acorn Press..