JOHN XANTUS: The Fort Tejon Letters 1857 -1 by [Xantus, Janos / John.] Zwinger, Ann - 1986.

Tucson:: University of Arizona Press,, 1986.. Hardcover first edition -. Fine in fine dust jacket (as new.). First printing. Previously unpublished letters of this Hungarian immigrant who joined the US Army under an assumed name, a charlatan who managed to alienate most of the people he met, and yet one of the Smithsonian's most successful collectors of natural history specimens in the mid-19th century. From his station at Ft Tejon in California's Tehachapi Mountains, Xantus carried on a lengthy correspondence with Spencer Baird at the Smithsonian. Illustrated with drawings and photographs, notes, index. 255 pp.