Beschreibung:

LETTS, John M.]. A Pictorial View of California; Including a Description of the Panama and Nicaragua Routes, with Information and Advice Interesting to All, Particularly Those Who Intend to Vist the Gold Region . New York: Henry Bill, 1853.
LETTS, John M.]. A Pictorial View of California; Including a Description of the Panama and Nicaragua Routes, with Information and Advice Interesting to All, Particularly Those Who Intend to Vist the Gold Region . New York: Henry Bill, 1853. 8 o (225 x 143 mm). One-page advertisement bound at end. Frontispiece and 48 lithographed plates by J. Cameron after drawings by George Victor Cooper including a duplicate of the plate entitled "Entrance to the River Chagres" (some spotting). Original red cloth decorated in blind and gilt, spine gilt (hinges worn and cracking, some wear at extremities). Second edition (the first edition was published in 1852 and entitled California Illustrated ). Letts left New York on January 27, 1849, and arrived in San Francisco on July 4th. He headed for the gold fields and worked at Mormon Bar and Auburn before opening up a store, which proved more profitable than mining for gold. Packing up when the rainy season began, Letts returned to San Francisco and then to New York via the overland Panama route, giving detailed descriptions of several cities along the way including Sacramento, Panama, and León. While much of Letts' narrative is written in good humor, he does touch upon the gambling and violence he personally witnessed in the mining camps. His travelling companion, George Cooper captured the landscapes and views, as well as the life of a Forty-niner in his illustrations accompaning the text. Cowan I p.140; Graff 2469; Hill 1016; Howes L-300; Kurutz 398e; Sabin 40723.