Beschreibung:

Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Laurence, through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans Alexander Mackenzie 1801 MACKENZIE, Alexander (c.1764-1820). Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Laurence, through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans; in the Years 1789 and 1793. London: T. Cadell, 1801. Inscribed presentation copy of the first edition of the first transcontinental overland narrative. "This classic of North American exploration describes the extraordinary travels of the author from 1789, when he discovered the Mackenzie River, until 1793, when he crossed the continent to the Pacific in British Columbia and returned. Besides a narraive of his travels, Mackenzie also procides an excellent history of the fur trade in Canada, as well as vocabularies of several Indian languages. The 'Map of Mackenzie's track from Fr. Chipewyan to the Pacific Ocean' was a milestone and, as Wheat says, "at once questions began to be raised about the now patent inadequacies of all prior maps of the American Far West.' A cornerstone in any collection of North American travel and exploration" (Best of the West). Best of the West 22; Howes M-133 ("b"); Hill 1063; Sabin 43414; Streeter sale 3653; Quarto (269 x 209mm). Frontispiece portrait, 3 folding maps, one of which hand-colored in outline, errata leaf (some offsetting to maps, light toning throughout). Contemporary mottled calf gilt (some wear to boards). Provenance: Edward Thornton (1766-1852, British diplomat and ambassador to the United States; presentation inscription from the author).