The Yosemite by MUIR, John (1838-1914) - 1912

New York: The Century Company, 1912. First Edition. Pictorial Cloth. Fine-. First Printing (MCMXII on title page) of this scarce account of the park, its landmarks, seasonal climes, and wildlife, by Yosemite's best known advocate and explorer. 8vo (206 x 126mm): x,284pp, with 3 folding maps and 32 (including frontispiece) full-page plates from photographs. Original publisher's greenish black pictorial V cloth decorated and lettered in gilt, blue, and black; top edge gilt; wanting the rare dust jacket. Minor offsetting to title page, bookplate to front paste-down, else square, tight, and virtually pristine throughout. BAL 14767. Kimes 308. Zamorano Select 77. In 1902, Muir's friend Robert Underwood Johnson, of The Century Publishing Company, urged him to write a guide book for the throngs of visitors to Yosemite. By June of 1910, Muir had finally set to work, including sketching out a long chapter on Hetch Hetchy Valley, which he hoped would help garner support to preserve the Tuolumne Meadows. The book is fittingly dedicated to Johnson. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).