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Author: Robinson, Fayette
Title: California and its Gold Regions; With a Geographical and Topographical View of the Country, its Mineral and Agricultural Resources. Prepared from Official and other Authentic Documents...
Place Published: New York
Publisher:Stringer & Townsend
Date Published: 1849
Description: 137, [1], [6] ad. pp. (8vo) 21.5x14 cm (8½x5½"), original printed wrappers, page edges untrimmed and mostly unopened. First Edition.Early notice of California during the Gold Rush, intended, as the author notes in his preface (dated December 1848), "to make a fair exposition of the most authentic accounts of California and the gold region." Gary Kurutz notes that "Robinson assembled a fine anthology of several of the earliest reports of the gold discovery, conditions in California, history of the region, and ways to reach the diggings. He squeezed between the covers letters and reports by Mason, Frémont, Larkin, Emory, Kearny , and others. The appendix adds information drawn from newspapers and government reports on conditions in San Francisco and on the Panama route. While discussing various routes to California, Robinson recommends the northern Overland Trail, with Council Grove as the departure point...." Does not include map. There were two printings of the first edition of the book, with different pagination. Kurutz does not state a clear priority. Some copies have a view of San Francisco as frontispiece, not present here, with no evidence of every having been present. References: Graff 3527; Howes R366; Kurutz, 539b; Norris 3291; Rocq 16029; Sabin 72070; Streeter 2595; Wheat Gold Region 70; Wheat Transmississippi 591.

Wrappers soiled and torn, paper repairs, not attached to text block; title page with stain to top edge, text block generally clean with only rare spots of foxing; overall very good.