General Exploration
Arranged alphabetically by author.


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    :  The Voyage of Governor Phillip To Botany Bay; With an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island, compiled from Authentic Papaers.....  Richmond, Victoria: Hutchinson Group, (1982). Reprint of 1982. Fine in blue-green cloth covered boards with white text on the spine. A quarto of 11 5/8 by 9 inches. In a fine, unclipped (no price) dust jacket. A facsimile edition of 1982 as part of the Australiana Facsimile Editions by Hutchinson of Australia made from the original documentation of 1789. 298 pages of text followed by a 74 (lxxiv) page appendix. Illustrated with large large maps many of which fold-out and 47 plates from earlier works of art.
    TB30713  $45.00



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    Alvord, Clarence Walworth and Lee Bidgood:  The First Exploration of the Trans-Allegheny Region by the Virginians 1650-1674.  Cleveland, Ohio: Arthur H. Clark Company, 1912. First Edition. Fine in red cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine and a gilt top edge to the text block. A small quarto of 9 3/8 by 6 1/4 inches with no prior ownership markings of any kind. Without a dust jacket. One of only 1,010 copies printed. A collection of first person, exploration accounts providing "A history of early western explorations beyond the Alleghenies, in the Ohio Valley, and extending as far south as Florida." (Clark & Brunet) 275 pages including an index, bibliography and text. Illustrated with a color frontispiece map and facsimiles of maps and title pages of documents. Considered by Howes to be "quite scarce". (Clark & Brunet, 5; Howes A194)
    TB29686  $250.00



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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  $350.00



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    Barrow, John:  An Account Of Travels Into The Interior Of Southern Africa, In The Years 1797 and 1798.  New York: G. F. Hopkins, 1802. First American Edition , From the London Quarto Edition. Good in heavily worn, brown full leather covered boards with a leather overlay on the spine with a black leather title label which is heavily chipped. The front cover's board is missing, the first free end page is loose with a handwritten note that it was "The Property of the Essex Library" which is crossed out and with a second handwritten note stating: "Payrs Comers Library. No. 62". The title page and first contents page are ragged at their fore edges. The fold-out frontispiece map has many short closed tears to the folds. The rear hinge and joint are broken, but held on to the text block with the overlayed leather spine. 386 pages which show general tanning and occasional spots of foxing. A good candidate for rebinding.
    TB30226  $175.00



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    Byrd, Richard Evelyn:  Skyward.  New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1928. Limited First Edition. Fine in 1/2 dark blue cloth and light blue-gray paper covered boards with gilt text and gilt double bands on the spine. A small quarto of 9 1/2 by 6 3/8 inches with only traces of rubbing at the corners of the spine and tips of the boards. Without a dust jacket. One of only 500 copies printed, numbered and signed by both the publisher and the author with this copy numbered 391. Affixed to the front paste down are two pieces of cloth "from the wings of the plane, Josephine Ford, in which Commander Byrd flew over the North Pole, May 9, 1926. The volume also includes and extra series of plates in photogrvure" which are bound-in. 348 pages of text followed by a fold-out map illustrating the flight Byrd took to the North Pole. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Byrd from a pencil sketch and 55 plates from photographs.
    TB32449  $450.00



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    Byrd, Richard Evelyn:  Little America Aerial Exploration In The Antarctic The Flight To The South Pole.  New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1930. First Edition, Author's Autograph Edition. Near fine in 1/4 vellum and light blue paper-covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine and blue paper end sheets. A small quarto of 9 5/8 by 6 1/4 inches with two diagonal, what look like rust marks from possibly a paper clip at the upper edge of the front board, and nicks to the vellum at the upper corners of the spine which is also very slightly soiled. Without a dust jacket as issued. Signed by the author and publisher on the limitation page. One of only one thousand copies signed by the author with this copy identified as number 850. 436 pages including an index, appendix and text. Illustrated with four maps. two of which fold-out and 74 plates from black and white photographs.
    TB32458  $250.00



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    Cooke, Philip St. Geprge William Henry Chase Whiting and Francois Xavier Aubry:  Exploring Southwestern Trails 1846-1854.  Glendale, Calif.: Arthur H. Clark Company, 1938. First Edition, First Printing. Near fine in dark red cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine with the top edge of the text block gilt. A small quarto of 9 1/4 by 6 3/8 inches. Without a dust jacket and most likely did not have one. Volume VII of The Southwest Historical Series edited by Ralph P. Bieber. 383 pages of text followed by a fold-out map of the Southwestern United States showing the route of the authors on their expedition. (Clark/Brunet, p78,21 (VII) Only 1,067 copies printed.
    TB32422  $150.00



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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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    Dale, Paul W.:  Seventy North to Fifty South The Story of Captain Cook's Last Voyage.  Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969. First Edition, First printing. Very good+ in 1/4 dark blue and decorated white cloth covered boards with the gilt text stamping on the spine somewhat faded, light soiling to the white cloth covered boards, dust staining to the upper edge of the text block and with a prior owner's name on the first free end page. In a very good+ unclipped dust jacket with a 1/8" deep chip at the upper edge of the spine area which is tanned and with the panels lightly soiled. 370 pages including and index, bibliography and text. Illustrated with line drawings, maps, charts and steel engravings.
    TB23529  $30.00



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    Duncan, Dayton:  Scenes of Visionary Enchantment Reflections On Lewis And Clark.  Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, (2004). First Edition, First Printing. Fine in 1/4 black cloth and blue paper covered boards with gilt text on the spine. An octavo of 9 by 6 inches. In a fine, unclipped dust jacket. 202 pages of text.
    TB31281  $30.00




  • Fleming, Fergus:  Barrow's Boys.  New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1998. First Edition, First printing. Fine in black paper covered boards with silver colored text stamping on the spine which is very slighlty rolled. In a fine, unclipped, dust jacket. 489 pages including an index, references, text and illustrated with a section of reproductions of contemporary art work. As second secretary to the British Admiralty, John Barrow in 1816 created an extremely ambitious exploration program to "fill in the blanks on the atlases of the day." For the next 30 years Barrow's Boys traveled to the Arctic, Antarctica, and the heart of Africa.
    TB17080  $12.60



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    Gray, Edward G.:  The Making of John Ledyard Empire And Ambition in the life of an Early American Traveler.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007. First Edition. Fine in gray paper covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. A small quarto measuring 9 1/8 by 6 inches. In a near fine unclipped dust jacket with a 1/4" closed tear at the upper edge of the front panel. 224 pages including an index, chapter notes and text. Illustrated with maps and reproductions of contemporary works of art. A Connecticut native, John Ledyard (1751-1789) lead a remarkable life and one filled with friendships with some of the most influential men of his time. He knew and was influenced by Captain James Cook, Robert Morris, John Paul Jones, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and many others. His penchant for travel not just within the United States but across the world gave him a point-of-view few of his era could appreciate. During the American Revolution he served as a British Marine aboard one of Captain Cook's vessels. During that cruise he was introduced to the Pacific Northwest of what is now Washington and Oregon. He recognized the importance of the fur bearing sea-otter and thereafter did all in his power to return to the area. His bad luck prevented him from completing a journey he had contemplated for years: walking through Russia in 1787/1788 to reach the west coast of North America.
    TB29362  $20.00



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    Herndon, William Lewis and Lardner Gibbon:  Exploration Of The Valley Of The Amazon Made Under Direction Of The Navy Department.  Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong, 1854. Reprint. Both volumes of this two volume set are in very good condition in their original purple cloth covered boards with faded gilt text on the spines and blind embossing on the front boards to include "House Document". Both are octavos of 8 3/4 by 5 3/4 inches with some fading to the cloth over the spines, minor pencil notations on the front end sheet of Part 2 and pages 7 through 10 bound-in after page 14 and both volumes are moderately foxed throughout. Part 1 contains 417 pages of text and is illustrated with a frontispiece and 15 plates. Part 2 (written by Lardner Gibbon) contains 339 pages of text and is illustrated with a frontispiece and 35 plates.
    TB31555  $150.00



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    Heyerdahl, Thor:  Kon-Tiki Across The Pacific By Raft.  Norwalk, Conn.: The Easton Press, (1987). Collector's Edition. Fine in full dark red leather covered boards with four raised bands on the spine with bold gilt text and gilt decorations in the compartments and with both boards decorated with gilt embossed designs. The end sheets are silk and there is a silk placement ribbon sewn in at the head of the spine. All edges of the text block are gilt. One of the volumes in the Easton Press's collection of The Leasther-Bound Nautical Library. The collector's notes for that series is laid-in at the front of this volume. 303 pages of text and is illustrated with a two page map and several sections of black and white images from photographs. A very handsome, clean and tight copy with no prior ownership markings.
    TB33085  $65.00



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    Irving, John Treat, Jr.:  Indian Sketches.  Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955. First Edition. Fine in light green cloth covered boards with a gilt on maroon title block on the spine. The top edge of the text block is speckled. In a very good+, price clipped dust jacket with the upper edge of the spine area rubbed and with the same to the upper fore corner of the front panel. The 18th volume in the American Exploration and Travel Series. 275 pages of text with 16 illustrations.
    TB26010  $45.00



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    Kane, Elisha Kent:  Arctic Explorations: The Second Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin, 1853, '54, '55 [2 vols].  Philadelphia: Childs & Peterson, 1856. First Edition. Both volumes in this two volume set are in very good- condition in original, brown cloth covered boards with blind embossing on the boards and gilt text stampings on the spines. The cloth for both volumes show rubbing and wear to the spines with the cloth worn through at the heads and heels of the spines and there are a number of chips to the cloth on the spine of volume II. Both are octavos measuring 8 3/4" by 5 3/4" with the engraved title pages and frontispieces showing foxing. The rest of the text is essentially free of any foxing or tanning. The binding, hinges and joints are all tight and strong. "Illustrated with up to 300 engravings from sketches by the author." [from the title page] Both volumes contain the fold out maps. The map for volume I is located at the front of the book and the map for the second volume faces page 428. Both maps are in fine condition.
    TB27176  $175.00



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    Kendrick, John:  The Voyage of Sutil and Mexicana 1792 The Last Spanish exploration of the Northwest Coast of America.  Spokane, Washington: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1991. First Edition, First Printing. Fine in dark blue cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine. A small quarto of 9 1/4 by 6 1/8 inches. In a fine, unclipped printed dust jacket. One of only 1,052 copies printed. Volume XVI in the Northwest Historical Series. 260 pages including an index, bibliography, appendices and text. Illustrated with frontispiece portraits, maps and reproductions of earlier works of art. (Clark & Brunet 159)
    TB29494  $70.00



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    Lehner, Ernest, and Johanna Lehner:  How They Saw The New World.  New York: Tudor Publishing Company, (1966). First Edition. Fine in brown cloth covered boards with bold gilt text stamping on the spine. A quarto of 11 by 8 1/2 inches. In a very good, price clipped dust jacket with 1/4" deep chips across the upper edge of the spine area and with a number of closed tears with related creasing around the edges of the panels. 160 pages including an index. Illustrated with a frontispiece and throughout from earlier works of art. Edited by Gerard L. Alexander.
    TB30710  $20.00



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    McGoogan, Ken:  Fatal Passage The Story of John Rae, The Arctic Hero Time Forgot.  New York: Carroll & Graf, 2002. First Edition. Fine in 1/4 black and blue paper covered boards with silver colored text stamping on the spine and with map end sheets. In a near fine, unclipped dust jacket with faint curling at the upper edge of the spine area. First published in Canada in 2001. 328 pages including an index, picture credits, bibliography and text. Illustrated with maps, reproductions of contemporary works of art and photographs.
    TB22708  $35.00



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    Millard, Candice:  River of the Gods.  New York: Doubleday, (2022). First Edition, First Printing. Fine in 1/4 purple and brown paper covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. A small quarto of 9 1/8 by 6 inches with map end sheets. In a fine, unclipped dust jacket. Signed without a date or inscription by the author on the second free end page. 349 pages including an index,bibliography, chapter notes and text. Illustrated with one sections of plates with images from black and white photographs.
    TB32649  $45.00




  • Miller, Robert R.:  For Science and National Glory.  Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968. First Edition, First printing. Fine in bright yellow cloth covered boards with black and red text and decorations on the spine. In a near fine dust jacket with a price clipped jacket flap and with a hint of flecking of the color to the upper edge of the front panel. Volume 55 of the American Exploration and Travel Series.
    TB06785  $25.00




  • Pendergast, David M.:  Palenque.  Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967. First Edition, First printing. Near fine, with remainder mark spraying to the top edge of the text block, else fine. In a very near fine, but price clipped dust jacket with the ends of the spine area rubbed. The 52 volume in The American Exploration and Travel Series.
    TB02539  $30.00



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    Philbrick, Nathaniel:  Sea of Glory America's Voyage of Discovery, The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842.  New York: Viking, 2003. First Edition. Fine in 1/4 black and bright red paper covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. An octavo measuring 9 by 6 inches. In a fine unclipped dust jacket. Signed by the author without an inscription or date on the second free end page. 452 pages including an index, bibliography, chapter notes and text. Illustrated with maps and two sections of black and white photographs of contemporary works of art.
    TB32366  $45.00



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    Roosevelt, Theodore:  Through The Bazilian Wilderness.  New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1914. First Edition, First Printing. Very near fine in its original brown cloth covered boards with bold gilt text on the spine and on the front board and with the top edge of the text block gilt.. A small quarto of 9 1/2 by 6 1/2 inches with cloth over the spine slightly faded and with upper tip of the front board mildly bumped. There is a prior owner's book plate (A. S. Houghton) on the front paste down. Without its issued dust jacket. 383 pages including an index, appendices and text followed by a fold-out map of the rivers of Brazil and with the route of the travelers outlined in orange. A one page map showing the entire continent of South America on page vii. Both maps are in excellent condition. Illustrated with a frontispiece of Roosevelt and Colonel Rondon standing on a rock from a black and white photograph as well as 48 plates "from photographs by Kermit Roosevelt and other members of the expedition".
    TB32498  $650.00



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    Schiel, Jacob H.:  Journey Through The Rocky Mountains And The Humboldt Mountains To The Pacific Ocean.  Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, (1959). First Edition, First printing. Very good+ in lime green cloth covered boards with silver colored text on the spine. A small quarto measuring 9" by 6" with light rubbing to the cloth at the head and heel of the spine and with mild dust staining to the top edge of the text block. In a very good+ unclipped dust jacket with modest rubbing and wear to the ends of the spine area and with light soiling to the rear panel. Translated from the German and edited by Thomas N. Bonner. This is volume 27 in the University of Oklahoma's collection of books referred to as The American Exploration and Travel series. 114 pages of text including a list of other volumes in the American Exploration and Travel Series, an index, bibliography, a list of elevations and locations and text. Originally published in German in 1859, this was the author's account of his participation in the Gunnison Expedition sent out in 1853 from Missouri to explore railroad routes to the Pacific. A lame horse forced his return to the main party, an event which saved his life as Gunnison and the accompanying personnel were massacre by Indians. Schiel then joined the command under Lt. Beckwith which eventually reached the Pacific shore the following year. (Howes, S159)
    TB24815  $45.00




  • 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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    Stegmaier, Mark J. and David H. Miller:  James F. Milligan His Journal of Fremont's Fifth Expedition, 1853-1854; his adventurous life on land and sea..  Glendale, Calif.: Arthur H. Clark Company, 1988. First Edition. Fine in red cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. An octavo measuring 9 by 6 inches. In a plain white paper dust jacket which is in fine condition. One of only 750 copies printed. 300 pages including an index, bibliography, appendix and text. Illustrated with maps and reproductions of earlier works of art. Volume XXI in the Western Frontiersmen Series by The Arthur H. Clark Company. Considered by The Arthur H. Clark bibliography by Clark and Brunet to be "one of the best contemporary accounts available of everyday life at a frontier post, as seen by a civilian." referring to Betn's Fort at Big Timbers in 1854. (Clark/Brunet, 269)
    TB29499  $40.00



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    The Regents of the University of California:  The Hill Collection Of Pacific Voyages at the University of California, San Diego.  New Haven and Sydney: William Reese Company and Hordern House, 2004. Second Revised and Enlarged Edition. Fine in royal blue cloth covered boards with gilt text stamped on the spine. A small quarto measuring 10" by 7" with yellow end sheets. Without a dust jacket as issued. 792 pages including a general index, a chronological index and text containing 1,937 titles.
    TB29840  $125.00



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    Tytler, Patrick Fraser:  Historical View of the Progress of Discovery of the More Northern Coasts of America, From the Earliest Period to the Present Time.  Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1832. First Edition, First printing. Good in full burgundy leather covered boards with four gilt decorated raised bands on the spine with gilt designs on the front and rear boards and all edges of the text block in gilt. The front joint is cracked but the front hinge keeps the front board in place . There is a 1/3" deep chip at the head of the spine and the leather is rubbed through at the tips of the boards. The rear hinge and joints are cracked but have not separated. A 16mo measuring 6 3/4" high by 4 1/4" deep overall. 444 pages illustrated with a fold-out map of the northern shores of North America as the frontispiece and with nine steel engravings by Jackson.
    TB18304  $75.00



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    Wilkes, Charles:  Voyage Round The World Embracing The Principal Events Of The Narrative Of The United States Exploring Expedition In One Volume.  Philadelphia: Geo. W. Gorton, 1849. First Edition of the single volume version. Very good in 1/2 brown leather and marbled paper covered boards with five raised bands on the spine with gilt text on a dark red leather title label in one compartment and binders devices and black borders in the other compartments. An octavo of 8 5/8 by 5 3/4 inches with the front joint starting and professionally reinforced with Japanese tissue to prevent further splitting of the joint. The rear joint is fine and both hinges remain strong with no sign of weakness. The first 24 pages show a dampness stain to the lower fore corners. 668 pages of test, Illustrated throughout with 178 vignettes from wood engravings. A handsomely bound volume in brown calf with the edges of the text block marbled to match the marbled paper on the boards and end sheets. Unfortunately this contemporary bound volume lacks a binder's ticket or stamp.
    TB33413  $1250.00



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    Williamson, R. S.:  Report Of Explorations In California For Railroad Routes, To Connect with The Routes Near The 35th And 32nd Parallels Of North Latitude.  Washington, DC: War Department, 1853. First Edition. Very good in its original blind embossed, black cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine. A quarto of 11 3/8 by 8 3/4 inches with the cloth worn through at the heel of the spine, a 1/4" closed tear to the cloth at the head of the spine, the cloth is worn through at the tips of the boards and the cloth at the lower edges of the boards is worn through in several areas. The contents are clean, largely free of foxing and tanning and there are no prior ownership markings of any kind. Volume V of Reports Of Explorations And Surveys, To Ascertain The Most Practicable and Economical Route For A Railroad From The Mississippi River The The Pacific Ocean. 370 pages of text followed by ten botany plates, an index of 13 pages, the botanical report by E. Durand and T. C. Higard, 18 plates, and appendices. Illustrated with a frontispiece lithograph, 61 plates (which includes 3 color maps and 8 fold-out charts) and numerous wood engravings within the text.
    TB30196  $350.00



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    Zug, James:  American Traveler The Life and Adventures of John Ledyard. The Man Who Dreamed of Walking The World.  New York: Basic Books, 2005. First Edition, First printing. Fine in brown and tan paper covered boards with gilt text on the spine with a small stamped foot print on the rear paste down. In a fine unclipped dust jacket. John Ledyard (1751-1789) was an adventurer, explorer, an iconoclast and a bit of an oddity. A man of incredible intelligence and great influence. Ledyard had the support and trust of such luminaries as Lafayette, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Morris, James Cook and Joseph Banks. 286 pages of text.
    TB24762  $25.00






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