Lot 252: The Santa Fé Trail to California, 1849-1852: The Journal and Drawings of H.M.T. Powell

Edited by Douglas S. Watson. With 18 maps and plates, some folding. 13 1/2 x9 1/4, quarter niger & buckram, spine letterd in blind, raised bands, edges untrimmed. One of 300 copies printed by the Grabhorn Press. First Edition.

Signed presentation copy, inscribed "for John and Alice [Robertson] in commemoration of the Second Blessed Event, Ed[win] and Marjorie [Grabhorn], July 6, 1932" on the front preliminary page. Day-by-day journal from Illinois, via Santa Fe, to San Diego. Kurutz calls the work "one of the most important and highly celebrated overland narratives. Its superb narrative combined with the elegant presentation of the Grabhorn Press make this a cornerstone of any Western travel collection. His delicate sketches of the missions and pueblos further embellish the volume." GB 158; Graff 3334; Howes P525; Kurutz 515; Rocq 17100; Eberstadt 137:517; Wheat Books 161.

[1931]

Small and minor stain to lower spine, upper cover margins slightly sunned, plus other light wear; hinges a bit tender, mild off setting to free endpapers; else very good to near fine. From the library of John and Alice Robertson.

Place: San Francisco
Publisher: Book Club of California