MARRYAT, Frank [Samuel Francis] (1826-1855).. Mountains and Molehills; or, Recollections of a Burnt Journal.. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1855., 1855.

Price: US$375.00 + shipping

Description: 8vo., (7 4/8 x 5 inches). Engraved illustrated title-page, engraved frontispiece, 6 engraved plates and numerous engravings in the text. Original brown cloth (extremities worn); preserved in a green morocco backed slipcase and chemise. Provenance: with the bookplate of James S. Copley in each chemise, his sale, Sotheby’s New York "Magnificent American, Historical Documents", 10th May 2011, lot 1059. First American edition, published in London the same year with colour plates. The son of novelist Captain Frederick Marryat, Frank Marryat arrived in California in pursuit of game, not gold. Hunting deer and wildfowl he travelled to the Sonoma and Russian River valleys, to the diggings at Sacramento, the southern Mother Lode, Sonora and Tuttle-town. "His powers of description are utterly entrancing and can only be matched by Bayard Taylor and John D. Borthwick. Unlike reporter Taylor, he was not an observer but a full participant in this cauldron of chaos. Brilliantly written and illustrated, his book, along with a handful of others, forever shaped the perception of the greatest gold rush in world history." (Kurutz). Cowan I, pp. 150-51; Cowan II, p. 416; Graff 2685; Howes M299; Kurutz, The California Gold Rush 429a; Streeter Sale 2788; Zamorano 80 #52.

Seller: Arader Galleries - AraderNYC, New York, NY, U.S.A.