Books on Early American Travels and Antiquarian First Editions
Arranged alphabetically by author.


Firsthand Accounts of a Young Nation


Early American travel narratives offer a firsthand look at the young United States through the eyes of the explorers, immigrants, and foreign visitors who documented it. From European travelers recording their impressions of American customs and landscapes to accounts of journeys down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, across the plains, and into the American West, these narratives capture a country still being mapped, settled, and understood.

Many of these titles were among the first detailed accounts of specific regions, later cited by historians and bibliographers as essential primary sources. Collectors value them not only for their historical content, but for their scarcity -- many early travel narratives were printed in small runs and have survived in far fewer copies than their historical importance would suggest. Below is our current stock of early American travel narratives and related first editions, arranged alphabetically by author.
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    Ashe, Thomas:  Travels In America, Performed in 1806, For The Purpose Of Exploring The Rivers Alleghany, Monongahela, Ohio And Mississippi And Ascertaining The Produce and Condition Of Their Banks And Vicinity.  Newburyport: William Sawyer & Co., 1808. First Edition. Very good+ in full, contemporary tree calf covered boards with a gilt, red leather title block on the spine. A 16mo of 7 by 4 inches with an early prior owner's name at the top edge of the title page with scattered foxing throughout. The leather covers are worn and rubbed at the edges of the boards, but none are worn through. 366 pages including an appendix and text. The original title was published in England in 1808 in three volumes. This is the first American edition. Howes in his bibliography, U.S.Iana, states that this title is: "Interesting in spite of its snarling asperity and numerous lies." Clark in his bibliography of Travels in The Old South, believed that this title was "one of the least acceptable American Travel Accounts" as the author "realized that a book devoted largely to the condemnation of Americans would be profitable." He goes on to say that despite Ashe's "oblique observations" he "was favorably impressed with the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, and his descriptions are generally credible." (Howes, A-352; Clark, II, 134; Sabin, 2180)
    TB29837  $300.00



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    Baird, , Robert, Tanner, Henry Schenck and Richard and Robert Bache:  View Of The Valley Of The Mississippi, Or The Emigrant's And Traveller's Guide To The West.  Philadelphia: H. S. Tanner, 1834. Second Edition. An exlibrary copy in fair condition in its original, but loose light brown, paper covered boards with a loose spine back with a printed, paper label. The book and its loose parts are protected and contained within a library chemise with a hand printed title on its spine. A 12mo measuring 7 3/16 by 4 3/16 inches with library book plates on the fixed end pages of the boards, library stamps on the non-printed side of the map frontispiece and on the title page and with the Henry S. Tanner's name written out in pencil on the title page as well as the call number written in ink. The copyright page has the call number written in pencil and the first page of the introductions shows a "discarded" stamp in the lower margin. The contents are clean and bright without any tanning or foxing. 372 pages including an index and text. Illustrated with a fold-out, color map frontispiece of what is now the Eastern United States and additional maps following pages 106, 112, 128, 138, 148, fold-out maps following page 178 and 188, a single page page map following page 196, and fold-out maps following pages 214, 244, 262, 276, 290 and 348 fir a total of 15 maps. (Hows, B-45; Graff 141; Sabin, 2594)
    TB31971  $325.00



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    Bird, Isabella:  The Englishwoman In America.  Chicago, Ill.: The Lakeside Press, 2012. First Edition. Fine in blue-green cloth covered boards with gilt text stamped on the spine, gilt borders on the front and rear boards and a gilt company logo on the front board with green printed end sheets. A 16mo measuring 6 3/4 by 4 1/4 inches with upper and lower headbands and with the top edge of the text block gilt. The book remains protected in the publisher's original shrink wrap. 370 pages including an index followed by a page of image credits. Illustrated with a two page color map and 42 color plates including the frontispiece. An abridged version of the original 1856 British edition, edited by Thomas Philbrick, of a memoir by Bird of her travels through the United States beginning in 1854. This title is the 110th volume in the longest running collection of series Americana.
    TB33027  $25.00



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    Bowles, Samuel:  Across the Continent: A Summer's Journey to the Rocky Mountains, the Mormans, and the Pacific States, with Speaker Colfax.  Springfield, Mass. and New York: Samuel Bowles & Company and Hurd & Houghton., 1865. First Edition. Very good in its original brown cloth covered boards with gilt text and decoration on the spine. A small octavo of 7 1/2 by 4 3/4 inches with professional repairs made to significantly improve the appearance of the heavy wear to the cloth at the head and heel of the spine and with the cloth worn through over the tips of the boards. There is an early prior owner's name and date of "Feby 15, 1866" in ink on the title page. The binding is tight with the hinges and joints sound. The contents are in excellent condition with no tanning or foxing to the pages. The hand-colored map prior to the title page is completely intact and suffers only from a small, 1/2 inch, closed tear at its right margin which has been professionally repaired using archival tape on its verso side. 452 pages of text followed by a blank leaf and 6 pages of ads by the publisher. Illustrated with a hand-colored map as aforementioned. Graff notes "Among the states and territories visited by Bowles were Utah, Oregon, Washingto, California and Nevada." (Sabin, 7077; Graff, 370; Cowan, p.67; Rader, 431)
    TB31974  $200.00



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    Burnaby, Andrew:  Burnaby's Travels Through North America : Reprinted from the Third Edition of 1798.  New York: A. Wessels Company, 1904. Reprint from the Third Edition. Good+ in the publisher's original red cloth covered boards with faded gilt text stamping on the spine. The cloth at the head and heel of the spine is worn and just beginning to fray. The spine itself is slightly faded and the cloth at the tips of the boards is rubbed. Without its issued plain paper dust jacket. One of the volumes in the Source Books of American History with an introduction and notes by Rufus Rockwell Wilson. 265 pages including an index. Originally published in London in 1775 under the title: Travels Through the Middle Settlements in North America in 1759 and 1760. Copies of the original publication are considered "quite scarce" by Wright Howes. (Howes B-995)
    TB20705  $75.00



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    Campbell, Patrick:  A Journey Through The Genesee Country, Finger Lakes Region and Mohawk Valley from Patrick Campbell's Travels in the Interior Inhabited Parts of North America in the Years 1791 and 1792.  Rochester, NY: The University of Rochester Libraries, 1978. First Edition thus. Fine in 1/4 red cloth and tan paper covered boards with gilt text stamped on the spine. An octavo of 8 3/8 by 5 inches. Without a dust jacket as issued; however, this copy is contained within its issued, paper covered slip case with a paper title label on the front board. Unpaginated. Originally published in London in 1799, this is a facsimile copy of the first printing of the book. Illustrated with two plates.
    TB29417  $30.00



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    Carver, Jonathan:  Three Years Travels Through The Interior Parts of North America.  Philadelphia: Printed by Joseph Crukshank, 1792. Second Printing of the Second American Edition. Good in full brown leather covered boards with a very dark red leather spine label with gilt text and decorations. A 16mo measuring 6 3/8 by 3 7/8 inches with a tender front joint, the first free end page is missing and with early prior owner's names on the pasted end sheets. The leather at the heel of the spine is worn down to the edge of the text block and the leather at the tips of the boards is worn through with bumping to the tips. The contents are uniformly tanned throughout. 282 of text. Printed in Philadelphia by Joseph Crukshank for the publisher. This title was first issued in London in 1778. It was not published in the United States until 1784 in Philadelphia with a second edition published in that city in 1789 which was reprinted in 1792. (Lee's A Bibliography of Carver's Travels) According to Howes: "Carver penetrated farther into the West than any other English explorer before the Revolution." Although an American (by birth) Carver was not able to get the manuscript of his trip (1766-1768) published in this country. He went to London where it was published. (DAB) The popularity of his book lead to many translations, editions and printings in several countries. (Howes, C-215; Evans, 26745; Sabin, 11185; Lee, p165 to 169; DAB, v II, p552)
    TB29402  $375.00



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    Cutter, Donald C.:  Malaspina In California.  San Francisco: John Howell Books, 1960. First Edition. Fine in light yellow linen covered boards with bold gilt text stamping on the spine and with gilt text and decorations on the front board. A small quarto measuring 11" by 8 1/2". Without a dust jacket. One of only 1,000 copies printed. 96 pages including an index, appendices and text. Illustrated with two color plates and two sections of reproductions of earlier works of art. In 1791 Captains Alejandro Malaspina and Jose Bustamante y Guerra lead the Spanish naval exploring expedition, a 62-month around the world scientific endeavor. During this trip they stopped for a two week period in Monterey, California to explore and document what they found. This volume, the first English translation of the original Spanish printing of 1885, details their discoveries and provides necessary detail on California's early Spanish history. (Cowen, p. 412)
    TB26563  $125.00



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    Damrosch, Leo:  Tocqueville's Discovery Of America.  New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, (2010). First Edition, First printing. Fine in dark blue paper covered boards with bold gilt text stamping on the spine. An octavo measuring 9" by 6" with what appears to be a printer's error on the title page which shows faint splotches of light gray ink in a narrow vertical line down the page resembling mouse tracks. This same error is repeated on the verso of page ix confirming a printer's error. In a fine, unclipped dust jacket. 277 pages including an index, chapter notes and text. Illustrated with reproductions of contemporary works of art and a map. Alexis De Tocqueville was most famous for his book Democracy in America which resulted from a nine month tour through the young United States during the years 1831 to 1832. The author brings to life Tocqueville's tour through Canada, the eastern parts of what is now Wisconsin and Michigan, the great lakes, the eastern most states and south down the Ohio to the Mississippi to New Orleans and back to New York City by way of stage coach through the south eastern states.
    TB25147  $25.00



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    Flint, Timothy:  Recollections Of The Last Ten Years, Passed In Occasional Residences And Journeyings In The Valley Of The Mississippi From Pittsburg And The Missouri To The Gulf Of Mexioc, and From Florida To the Spanish Frontier.  Boston: Cummings, Hilliar, And Company, 1826. First Edition. Very good in its original paper covered boards with a printed paper label on the spine. A small quarto of 9 5/8 by 5 7/8 inches with rubbing and wear to the paper at the head and heel of the spine and minor small chipping from the paper title label. There is an early prior owner's book plate on the front paste down. Without a dust jacket. 395 pages of text. Timothy Flint (1780-1840) was a missionary and writer who traveled broadly throughout the US during his lifetime. The subject title deals with the author's descriptions of his years living in various locations in Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas and Lousiana, during the years 1815 to 1825 where he comments extensively on geography, topography, culture and conditions. Considered by Howes to be "quite scarce". Smith in his bibliography of Travels in the Old South states: "The Recollections of Timothy Flint form one of the more significant travel accounts of the early nineteenth century in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys." A very clean and handsome copy in its original binding. (Clark, Vol. 2, 26; Streeter, Vol 3, 1540; Howe, F 204; Sabin, 24794; Graff, 1359; Rader, 1420; BAL, 6113)
    TB31025  $900.00



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    Garner, William Robert:  Letters from California 1846-1847.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970. First Edition, First Printing. Fine in maroon cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine. An octavo measuring 9 by 6 inches. In a fine, unclipped dust jacket. These letters (originally sent under the identity of only "W. G." were sent to newspapers on the east coast just before the Gold Rush. They describe in great detail the customs, events and landscape of the area around Monterey and San Francisco Bay. Edited, with a sketch of the life and times of the author of these letters. 262 pages including an index, bibliography and text. Illustrated with maps, one section of black and white photographs and reproductions of earlier works of art.
    TB26456  $25.00



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    Hall, Captain Basil:  Travels in North America, In The Years 1827 and 1828.  Edinburgh: Cadell and Co. and Simpkine and Marshall, 1829. First Edition. All three volumes of this complete set are in very good+ condition elaborately bound in full brown leather (calf) diced on the boards with a gilt border, three raised bands on the spines with gilt tooling and two black leather title blocks with gilt text. On volumes I and III the black leather title blocks are chipped with only minor losses to the gilt text. The edges of the text blocks are marbled. Each is a 7mo measuring 7 1/4" by 4 1/2" with an early prior owner's book plate attached to the front paste downs of each volume. Each volume also has the remains of silk placement ribbons sewn-in at the heads of the spines. Volume I contains 421 pages and is illustrated with hand colored fold-out map at the front of the book. The map is in excellent condition with only a small 1/3" closed tear at its margin. Volume II contains 432 pages; and, volume III contains 436 pages followed by a fold-out table of financial and census data for the various states then part of the United States of America. Considered "mildly scarce" by Howes. (Howes, H-47; Sabin, 29275; Clark III, 48)
    TB26696  $575.00



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    Pownall, T. {Thomas}:  A Topographical Description Of The Dominions Of The United States Of America.  Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1949. Second Expanded Edition. Fine in yellow-green cloth covered boards with gilt on black title blocks on the spine and the author's name stamped in gilt on the front board. A quarto of 12 by 8 1/2 inches with two, very small and minor fading marks at the head of the spine and a small snag at the lower fore edge of the front board. The contents are in perfect condition as well as the two fold-out maps. Without a dust jacket. One of only 2,000 copies of this title printed and sold. 235 pages including an index, bibliography and text. Edited by and with a preface by Lois Mulkearn. Illustrated by a frontispiece and with two, very large, fold-out maps tipped-in at the rear of the book. This title was first published in London in 1776. The author added subsequent material expanding the original edition by approximately one third with the intent of publishing a second edition. That was not done until the publication of this version. (Howes, P-543)
    TB30703  $40.00



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    Rich, Virtulon:  Western Life In The Stirrups A Sketch of a Journey to the West in the Spring & Summer of 1832.  Chicago: The Caxton Club, 1965. First Edition. Very good+ in 1/4 brown cloth and marbled paper covered boards with gilt text on the spine. A 12mo of 7 3/8 by 5 3/4 inches with sections of the marbled paper worn through at the edges of the boards and particularly at the tips of the boards. Without a dust jacket. 81 pages of text. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author and a map of the eastern portion of the United States which traces the routes taken by the author. Edited by and with an introduction by Dwight L. Smith. This title is the first publication of Virtulon Rich's journal which included his journey by horseback from upstate Vermont to Albany, New York City, Washington, DC, Maryland, Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and the eastern edge of Illinois from where he returned in 1832.
    TB29942  $20.00



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    Roberts, Kenneth:  Moreau de St. Mery's American Journey.  Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1947. First Edition. Very good+ in off white cloth covered boards with a gilt on black title block on the spine. An octavo of 9 by 6 inches with the cloth on the front board slightly soiled, the spine lightly tanned and a gift inscription on the first free end page. Without its issued dust jacket. Overall a nice copy of this entirely true account of travel through post-Revolutionary America. An excellent source of information for genealogists and historians. The original document was discovered by Kenneth Roberts during his research for his book Lydia Bailey. Roberts and his wife translated this the first US edition from the French.
    TB32198  $20.00



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    [Silliman, Benjamin]:  Remarks Made On A Short Tour Between Hartford And Quebec in the Autumn of 1819.  New Haven: S. Converse, 1824. Second Edition, with corrections and additions. Near fine in a recent light brown cloth binding with gilt text and borders stamped on the spine and new end sheets. A small octavo measuring 7 5/8 by 4 3/4 inches Without a dust jacket. 443 pages of text with an engraved title page and a printed title page. Illustrated with a frontispiece and nine engraved plates by Simon S. Jocelyn. Silliman was a noted American chemist, geologist and educator at Yale. He was Yale's first professor of chemistry and natural history. In this trip Silliman provides comment not only on sites and landmarks, but also the topography and geology of the areas he traveled. (Howes S-459; Sabin 81042)
    TB28823  $150.00




  • Spaulding, George F. (Editor):  On The Western Tour With Washington Irving The Journal and Letters of Count de Pourtales.  Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, (1968). First Edition, First Printing. Fine in olive green cloth covered boards with a gilt on black title block on the spine. An octavo of 8 3/4 by 5 7/8 inches with a sprinkling of black ink on the top edge of the text block. In a very good+, unclipped dust jacket with a 1/4" short closed tear with a related crease at the top edge of the front panel. 96 pages including an index, bibliography and text. Illustrated with 14 images from earlier works of art. A young Swiss nobleman, Count Albert-Alexadre de Pourtales, was one of four men to make a trip down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and then across the plains to what is now Oklahoma and what then was Indian Terriroty in 1832. Washington Irving made this trip famous in his book A Tour Of The Prairies. This title contains the journal written by Pourtales and is here first published. Volume 54 in the University of Oklahoma's collection of titles in the Exploration and Travel series.
    TB30036  $25.00



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    [Vandewater, Robert J.]:  The Tourist, Or Pocket Manual For Travellers On The Hudson River, The Western Canal And Stage Road To Niagara Falls Down Lake Ontario And The St. Lawrence To Montreal And Quebec Comprising Also The Routes To Lebanon, Ballston, And Saratoga Springs..  New York: Harper Brothers, 1834. Third Edition, Enlarged and Improved. Very good- and rebacked retaining the original backstrip and the original end sheets in its original binding of light blue cloth covered boards. A 24mo measuring 6 by 3 3/4 inches with rubbing to all edges of the cloth around the boards and with minimal rubbing to the paper title block affixed to the front board. The fold-out map is present with multiple folds and only minor losses in the margins. The title page shows an early prior owner's name and date of July 3, 1834 in pencil and the blank second to last end page repeats that name and date in pencil. That same page has been torn such that a 4 by 4 inch portion of the page has been removed. 95 pages of text followed by a blank page and 12 pages of ads from the publisher. A tourist's guide starting in Philadelphia to New York City then up the Hudson River to Albany and west on the Erie Canal. Containing interesting facts and features as they then existed along the routes taken. (Howes, V-28; Sabin, 98486
    TB32415  $200.00



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    (Washington Irving):  The Crayon Miscellany No. 2 Containing Abbotsford and Newstead Abbey.  Philadelphia: Carey, Lea and Blanchard, 1835. First Edition. Very good+ in a restored binding with new end sheets in the publisher's original green cloth covered boards with a new, faithfully accurate reproduction of the original paper label on the spine. A 12mo measuring 7" tall by 4 1/4" deep. The cloth on the spine is lightly worn around the edges as is the cloth at the edges of the boards; but, there is no fraying. The pages of the text block are all evenly tanned. There are two early prior owner's names in pencil on the second free end page and on the title page. 230 pages of text followed by a blank leaf and 32 pages of ads from the publisher and one final blank leaf. The Crayon Miscellany No. 1 contained A Tour On The Prairies and was published by Carey, Lea, & Blanchard on April 11, 1835. This volume, No. 2, was published six weeks later, on May 30, 1835. Reportedly, only 5,000 copies were printed. The contents are "Irving's fond tribute to the homes of Walter Scott and Lord Byron." (Brian Jay Jones: Washington Irving An American Original.) It was well received by an adoring American public even winning fond praise from Edgar Allan Poe in his review which appeared in the Southern Literary Messenger. The British publication of nearly the same text preceded the American edition by roughly one month. (Langford/Blackburn p. 33; BAL 10142)
    TB25978  $150.00



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    [Washington Irving]:  The Crayon Miscellany No. 1 Containing A Tour On The Prairies; The Crayon Miscellany No. 2 Containing Abbotsford and Newstead Abbey and The Crayon Miscellany No. 3 Containing Legends of the Conquest of Spain (3 volumes).  Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Blanchard, 1835. All First Editions . All three volumes are in the publisher's original dark green cloth covered boards with the original, paper labels on the spines of No. 1 and No. 2. and with a meticulously accurate reproduction of the paper label on the spine of No. 3. All three are 12mos measuring 7" by 4 1/4" and are all in very good or better condition. No. 1 is a first edition, first state with the sheets bulking to 9/16" without the ads with the synopsis on page 247 showing: "binger of dawn" and the paper spine label is identified as "Label A" and, the catalog (ads at the rear) is identified as "Catalog A" per BAL 10140. It is in very good condition and contains 274 pages followed by a blank leaf and then by 24 pages of ads by the publisher. There is some scuffing to the boards and there is an early prior owner's name written in both ink and pencil on the first free end page. (The penciled signature is followed by a date of "1835". ) The corners of the boards are turned inward and there are spots of foxing throughout. Only 5,000 copies of the first printing were produced making this title fairly uncommon. This was Irving's first book written entirely in the US following his seventeen year stay in Europe. He was worried that Tour of the Prairies was too simple and not strong enough to stand on its own as a book. In January of 1835 he hit upon the idea of publishing it as the first volume in a multi-volume series he would call The Crayon Miscellany. (Brian Jay Jones: Washington Irving An American Original) In this volume he added an opening announcement (billed as an "Advertisement") with the following statement: "The 'Crayon Miscellany' will appear in the numbers, from time to time, as circumstances may permit' and will contain scenes and sketches of life in America and Europe; together with such other themes, both real and imaginary, as may present themselves to the mind of the Author." No. 2 is a first edition in very good+ condition in the publisher's original green cloth covered boards with the original paper label on the spine with a minor, narrow abrasion approximately 1/2" long. A 12mo measuring 7" tall by 4 1/4" deep with an early (1898) prior owner's name written in ink on the second free end page. 230 pages of text followed by a blank leaf and 36 pages of ads from the publisher and one final blank leaf and the free end sheet. No. 2, was published six weeks after No. 1, on May 30, 1835. Reportedly, only 5,000 copies were printed. The contents are "Irving's fond tribute to the homes of Walter Scott and Lord Byron." (Brian Jay Jones: Washington Irving An American Original.) It was well received by an adoring American public even winning fond praise from Edgar Allan Poe. No. 3 is also a first edition in very good condition with a prior owner's book plate on the front paste down and tape marks on the first free end page and with moderate foxing throughout the preliminaries, ads and end sheets as well as light soiling to the rear board. It contains 276 pages followed by eight pages of ads from the publisher. Per BAL 10144 this copy conforms to "Setting A". Like the previous two volumes, the first printing of this title was limited to 5,000 copies. This is the third and final volume in The Crayon Miscellany. A handsome and complete collection of Irving's Crayon Miscellany. (BAL 10140, 10142 & 10144; Langerfeld/Blackburn p. 33)
    TB25992  $700.00






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