History of the Expedition Under the Command of Lewis and Clark, To the Sources of the Missouri River, thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, performed during the Years 1804-5-6, by Order of the United States by Lewis, Meriwether and William Clark. Edited by Elliott Coues - 1893

New York: Francis P. Harper, 1893. Large Paper Edition. Four volumes. 1364pp. Quartos [26.5 cm] 1/2 white cloth over light gray boards with printed labels on the backstrips. Very good. Seams of the rear pocket are split. General shelf wear to boards with gentle overall age toning to backstrips and extremities with minor overall discoloring. Bookplates on front pastedowns of noted collector, Richard M. Brown. 'A New Edition, faithfully reprinted from the only authorized edition of 1814, with copious critical commentary, prepared upon examination of unpublished official archives and many other sources of information, including a diligent study of the original manuscript journals and field notebooks of the explorers, together with a new biographical and bibliographical introduction, new maps and other illustrations, and a complete index, by Elliott Coues.' This Large Paper Edition was printed on handmade paper and limited to 100 numbered copies, this is copy 73. Autograph letter signed (ALS) by Coues to publisher, Lathrop C. Harper is tipped in at the front of the first volume. A related TLS from Harper is laid in. These works also contain two frontispiece portraits, two folding facsimiles, two folding genealogical charts, and eight maps, including the three folding maps housed in the rear pocket of volume four. An American army surgeon, historian, and ornithologist, Coues (1842-1899) rediscovered the original journals of Lewis and Clark at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, edited them, and incorporated new material into his manuscript. His research is credited with renewing interest in the journey and led to a string of new discoveries during the decades that followed, including the surfacing of Sergeant Charles Floyd's journal, Private Joseph Whitehouse's journal, various maps and letters from William Clark, Meriwether Lewis' Ohio Journals and Sergeant John Ordway's journals. Wagner/Camp 13:1 (note). Literature of Lewis & Clark 5b.2. Eberstadt 104:173. Howes L317.