A Pictorial View of California;; Including a Description of the Panama and Nicaragua Routes with information and advice interesting to all, particularly those who intend to visit the Golden Region By a Returned Californian [Sold by Subscription Only] [Carl I. Wheat's copy]
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- Slipcased
- New York: Henry Bill, 1853
New York: Henry Bill, 1853. Third Edition. Slipcased. Very Good. George V. Cooper. Prior owner Carl I. Wheat, [9.25x6.5in]; vii, [1], 9-224 pp., [1] advertisement, 48 lithographed plates, including frontispiece, with lithograph illustrations by George V. Cooper, including frontispiece view of San Francisco; Recased with original dark brown cloth covers with blind stamped borders and designs, gilt illustration of gold miner on front, gilt lettering designs and illustration on reattached original spine, all edges trimmed, with slip case; Minimal shelf wear to covers, edges and corners, age toning to text, tissue guards, and plates with foxing spots thoughout, prior owner, Carl I. Wheat address label on lower rear paste down. Overall a very good copy of an important early Gold Rush narrative. [Kurutz 398e, Cowan 64 p. 390(Ref), Wheat Gold Rush Books 125(Ref), Hill 1016, Howes L-300, Samuels p106]. John M. Letts (1818- ?) was one of the first to sail from New York to California in January 1849. By way of Chagres and Panama City, he arrived five months later in San Francisco. He then went directly to Sacramento and the placer mines to in the Sierra Nevada mountains. His purpose appears to have been to gain experience in the travel and conditions. Letts stated "A season's residence in the mineral regions enabled me to obtain a correct interior view of life in California." He returned to New York by way of Central America in November 1849 through Nicaragua and San Juan. His accounts of the is one of the better details of "... gambling, violence, and life in the mines" from Kurutz.
George Victor Cooper (1810-1878), a New York landscape and portrait artist, sculptor, lithographer, and cameo cutter. In 1849, he traveled the west and to California. He met Letts and illustrated the gold mining adventure. This book is also known for the tinted and hand-colored lithographs of Central America, California and mining life. The sketches are not as fine as others were later and not well received in California. However, they are an important look at the early travels and mining in 1849. The prints were popular and issued separately in varying sizes. Cooper created a wide body of work, including portrait of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Carl I. Wheat (1892-1966) was a Lawyer, western historian, and author of the American West. He is best known as a historical cartographer and author a number of books, including the multi-volume Mapping the Transmississippi West, Books of the California Gold Rush, Maps of the California Gold Region, and others.
George Victor Cooper (1810-1878), a New York landscape and portrait artist, sculptor, lithographer, and cameo cutter. In 1849, he traveled the west and to California. He met Letts and illustrated the gold mining adventure. This book is also known for the tinted and hand-colored lithographs of Central America, California and mining life. The sketches are not as fine as others were later and not well received in California. However, they are an important look at the early travels and mining in 1849. The prints were popular and issued separately in varying sizes. Cooper created a wide body of work, including portrait of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Carl I. Wheat (1892-1966) was a Lawyer, western historian, and author of the American West. He is best known as a historical cartographer and author a number of books, including the multi-volume Mapping the Transmississippi West, Books of the California Gold Rush, Maps of the California Gold Region, and others.