Diary of a Physician in California; Being the Results of Actual Experience including Notes of the Journey by Land and Water and Observations on the Climate, Soil, Resources of the Country, etc.

New York & Philadelphia. D. Appleton & Company & G.S. Appleton. 1850. 8vo, 23.5cm, The First Edition, 3-92,[4]p., ads., with ad on the inside back wrapper and title page for: Fremont's California Guide Book... date 1849., the title page is repeated on the upper in publisher's frame border with add header "The Land of Promise"; with ms note in ink on the bottom edge "Deposited in the Clerks Office of the District Court for the Southern (illegible) York arch 30, 1850"., the wrappers are dust worn, the edges are chipped, internal library marks, internally good to very good, rare.(cgc). Howes T-451. One of the best contemporary accounts of travels to the northern mines of California. Tyson journeyed by way of Panama, and arrived in California on May 18, 1849. He was the first competent professional physician to record for the prospective emigrant information for the preservation of his health both while en route and while in the mines. Kurutz notes that "Tyson's book is important in that it not only describes his adventures, but also includes advice on how to stay healthy for those crossing the Isthmus or working in the mines. He wrote: 'I never saw so many broken-down constitutions as during my brief stay in California.'" This copy lacks the title-leaf (pp.1-2), but, as Kurutz notes, the wrapper title is the same save for the addition of "The Land of Promise" above the border.