(WEST.) Francis Parkman. The California and Oregon Trail. 448 pages. 12mo, variant dark brown publisher's cloth, worn and stained but tastefully restored, rebacked and recased with original backstrip laid down; marginal dampstaining in final third of the book; signature of early owner A. White Jr. of Boston on front free endpaper. New York, 1849 First edition. A variant issued without the frontispiece, additional title page, or final ad leaves, possibly the binding described by Howes P97: "This freak variant was probably one of the 6 special copies sent by the publisher to Parkman." Wagner-Camp 170:1a-3 mentions this dark brown variant binding as well. BAL 15446 also notes this "experimental binding," but describes the cloth as black.