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JAMES, Edwin (1797–1861), compiler. Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains Performed in the Years 1819 and ‘20. Philadelphia: H.C. Carey and I. Lea, 1823–24.
2 volumes of text (sans atlas volume), 8vo. (Browning and spotting throughout, few leaves partially sprung in Vol. I). Modern blue cloth. Provenance: early ownership signature on title–pages.
FIRST EDITION of this “Notable government expedition [commanded by Maj. Stephen H. Long], supplementing earlier discoveries of Pike and of Lewis and Clark, and pronouncing the plains region as nothing but a desert, incapable of cultivation!” (Howes). This expedition “ranks in importance with those of Pike and Lewis and Clark” (Reese). Howes J–41; Reese, Best of the West 49; Sabin 35682; Streeter Sale 1783; Wagner–Camp 25:1; Wheat, Transmississippi 353.