Clarence King (1)

First British edition, first print, [vi], 292pp. 32-page publisher's catalogue at end. Publisher's green cloth decorated front & spine stamped gilt & black. Two British editions were released in 1872, both with same imprint, date and slightly different collation, one made from American sheets, and the other, as with this copy, printed in England. Slight foxing to the blanks, catalogue and page edges. Bumped lower corners & bit of fraying to spine ends. Two tasteful period bookplates to the front endpapers. A 3/8" split to the upper rear hinge, otherwise very tight. The gilt bright and images lovely. One of the classics of western American travel, by the first Director of the US Geological Survey and the man Henry Adams called "the best and the brightest of his generation."

"It is the mountaineer’s privilege to carry through life this wealth of unfading treasure ...if along the peaks I have sought to describe there is reflected, however faintly, a ray of that pure, splendid light which thrills along the great Sierra, I shall not have amused myself with my old note-books in vain." CK preface to the 4th edition

Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada begins with a summary of the geological history of the Sierras and then recounts King’s experiences in the range from 1864 -1870, both as member of the Whitney expedition and mountain climber. Highlights include ascent of Mount Tyndall, Mount Shasta, and Mount Whitney; survey of Yosemite Valley; and field trips in the Merced Valley. King provides anecdotes of the mountains’ people and natural history along the way. Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada first appeared, in part, in The Atlantic Monthly, starting with the May 1871 issue (vol. 27, issue 163), and ending with the Dec. 1871 issue (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, and 9, respectively).

Clarence King (1842-1901) of Rhode Island was a Yale-educated geologist and mining engineer who rode horseback across the continent in 1863. In California, he was hired to work on Whitney's geological survey of the state, then onto a distinguished professional career. Kings Park Utah & Mount Clarence King in Kings Canyon National Park are named in his honor. (Kings Canyon was named in 1806 by the Spaniard Gabriel Moraga, the first European to lead an expedition in these parts.) The book is so well-written that Farquhar notes: "The lack of further works from the pen of Clarence King has been deplored by his friends and admirers as well as by the thousands who have read Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada." This work continues to shine brightly.

Howes K148, Cowan, p.328, Zamorano 80/47, Currey & Kruska 224, Farquhar 12c, Reese, Best of the West 184, Library of Congress F868.S5 K52… (altro)

"It is the mountaineer’s privilege to carry through life this wealth of unfading treasure
...if along the peaks I have sought to describe there is reflected, however faintly, a ray of that pure, splendid light which thrills along the great Sierra, I shall not have amused myself with my old note-books in vain."

Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada (originally published 1872) begins with a summary of the geological history of the Sierras and then recounts King’s experiences in the range, both as a member of the Whitney expedition and as a mountain climber, 1864-1870. Highlights include his ascents of Mount Tyndall, Mount Shasta, and Mount Whitney; survey of Yosemite Valley; and field trips in the Merced Valley. King provides anecdotes of the mountains’ people and natural history along the way. Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada first appeared, in part, in The Atlantic Monthly, starting with the May 1871 issue (vol. 27, issue 163), and ending with the Dec. 1871 issue (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, and 9, respectively).
Zamorano 47, Library of Congress Call Number F868.S5 K52… (altro)