Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries. Explored in 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, Under the Direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C. Government Printing Office, 1875. First edition. Hardcover. 291pp. Quarto [29.5 cm] Dark green cloth over boards. With map (has a couple of minor fold splits) and profile in an envelope at the rear. Both in near pristine condition. Light scratching and scuffing to the monograph's boards. Multiple small, faint spots on backstrip. Darkening to p. 180 and the plate opposite. Text block cracked at p. 185, but book remains very sturdy. Complete. In better than very good condition. Very Good +. Item #71484
Powell's 1869 exploration was the first documented expedition to successfully navigate the perilous rapids of the Colorado River through the uncharted Grand Canyon. The expedition set off in 1869 with ten men and four boats under the direction of one-armed American explorer and Civil War veteran John Wesley Powell (1834-1902). After three months and nearly 1,000 miles, only five of the original party emerged from the depths of the canyon. Their historic journey mapped the last wild, untamed river of the American West and named the last unknown regions of American geography. The Henry Mountains and the Dirty Devil River were until the Powell expedition the last nameless mountain range and river in the continental U.S. Carl Wheat writes in "Mapping the Transmississippi West, 1850-1861," "As a narrative of adventure, this book of 1875 is one of the most justly celebrated documents in the literature of exploration." In recognition of Powell's contributions to American exploration, geology, and ethnology, he was appointed the first director of the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution. He also served as director of the U.S. Geological Survey from 1881 to 1894. Powell Plateau, a butte in Grand Canyon National Park, is named after him, as is Lake Powell. Howes P525. Farquhar 42a. Wheat 1261. Graff 3336. Sabin 64753.
Price: $2,500.00