LYFORD, William Gilman (1784-1852). The Western Address Directory. Baltimore: Jos. Robinson, 1837.
12mo (176 x 115 mm). 90 leaves of advertisements throughout printed on green, yellow, tan and pink paper. (Some light spotting, inkstain to title-page and the first few leaves.) Original brown cloth, printed label on spine (1/2-in. portion of head of spine lacking, some chipping to printed label and foot of spine, some light wear). FIRST EDITION, including information about merchants and businesses in Pittsburgh, Dayton, Wheeling (VA), Cincinnati, Zanesville, Madison (IN), Portsmouth (OH), Louisville, and St. Louis. The Directory was intended to serve as a guide to travellers throughout the Mississippi Valley, and also includes a list of steamboats operating in western waters. RARE: online auction records trace only three copies at auction in the last 50 years. Howes L-576; Sabin 12767.
Provenance: Edwin Stanton Fickes (1872-1943), Engineer and Vice President, Alcoa Aluminium (bookplate).
