Lot 247: REVERE, Joseph Warren (1812-1880). A Tour of Duty in California; Including a Description of the Gold Region. New York: C.S. Francis & Co.; Boston: J.H. Francis, 1849.

REVERE, Joseph Warren (1812-1880). A Tour of Duty in California; Including a Description of the Gold Region. New York: C.S. Francis & Co.; Boston: J.H. Francis, 1849.

12υo (191 x 119 mm). 6-page publisher's advertisements bound at end. Lithographed frontispiece and 5 plates, one folding map. Original blind-stamped cloth (spine faded, some light wear to spine and edges). Provenance: American Congregational Association (ink stamp on title).

FIRST EDITION, BY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AUTHORITIES ON THE GOLD RUSH. Revere, the grandson of Paul Revere, was a U.S. naval officer on the USS Portsmouth in the Pacific and a participant in the events of the American military conquest of California in 1846. He later travelled throughout California and, becoming enamored with the region, eventually acquired Rancho San Geronimo near Sonoma, where he finally settled. Revere's descriptions of California and the gold regions are among the best and include Colonel R.B. Mason's famous report on the gold fields. Cowan I p.189; Graff 3474; Howes R-222; Kurutz 529a; Sabin 70192.