Author: BRYANT, William Cullen (editor)
Title: Picturesque America; or, the Land We Live in. A Delineation by Pen and Pencil of the Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, Forests, Water-Falls, Shores, Cañons, Valleys, Cities, and Other Picturesque Features of Our Country
Description: New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1872. Hardcover. Complete 2-volume set. 4to. Quarter brown calf with raised bands and gilt lettering, rules and decorations and brown pebble-grain cloth over beveled boards. viii, 568pp; vi, 576pp. Tissue-guarded frontispieces, engraved title pages, extensive full-and partial-page engravings, heavy stock tissue-guarded plates, marbled endpapers. Overall very good. Cloth portion of bindings are typically scuffed, rubbed and age toned, with leather spine and corners mildly edgeworn only and gilt spine lettering bright; tight internally, with text blocks faintly age toned per usual, with very occasional text stain, blemish, foxing and handling marks; Volume I bears ownership signature/place inked at top of page 296 and large chip at head of page 433 (removing running head but not touching image or text); lacks second volume contents page (iv/v); overall clean and nice. Early edition of this hefty pair compiled by veteran poet and "New York Evening Post" editor Bryant and a groundbreaking work that pioneered national coast-to-coast travelogues, with region by region essays by a slew of once-noted writers and (to cite title page) "With Illustrations on Steel and Wood, by Eminent American Artists." The text illustrations are abundant and dramatic, while the dozens of white, heavy stock, tissue-guarded plates are superb. Nature sites and natural beauty are emphasized throughout -- note that "Cities" appears last in the list of features in the subtitle. Original owner of this pair had his name (D.W. Linehan, a contractor in Dubuque, Iowa) lettered in gilt at foot of each spine and he proudly signs in pencil an inner front flyleaf in each volume. A quite presentable and handleable set of this America-or-bust classic. BAL 1732. SABIN 62692. .

Keywords: Americana Travel & Exploration


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