[Muir, John (1838-1914)]. Kneeland, Samuel (1821-1888). The Wonders of the Yosemite Valley, and of California. Boston: Alexander Moore; Lee & Shepard, 1872.

4to. 2 maps, 10 mounted albumen photographs credited to John P. Soule, with tissue guards. (Very light occasional spotting, minor offsetting.) Original brown cloth gilt additionally stamped in black with matching design stamped in blind on rear, all edges gilt (rubbing, wear to spine ends).

THE FIRST ATTRIBUTED LITERARY PUBLICATION OF NATURALIST JOHN MUIR.

Third edition, revised and enlarged. The Wonders of the Yosemite Valley is an account of Samuel Kneeland's 1870 visit to the Yosemite Valley from Boston. Although the photographs are attributed to Boston photographer John Soule, there is no evidence that Soule ever visited California and they are considered much more likely to be the work of either Eadweard Muybridge or M.M. Hazeltine. The present work includes the first attributed literary appearance of naturalist John Muir, who moved into the Yosemite region in 1868 and within a few short years established himself as an authority on the region's natural features. Though Muir's writings had anonymously appeared in the second edition, his celebrity had grown considerably since thanks largely to his 1871 meeting with Ralph Waldo Emerson, who according to John Tallmadge had seen in Muir the ultimate fulfillment of the prophet-naturalist he'd dreamt of so many years before. This led Kneeland to name Muir as often as possible in the present edition, believing that doing so would boost sales. BAL 14733; Cowan (I) p. 131, (II) p. 333; Currey & Kruska 225; Farquhar 10c; Kimes 5-8.

[With]: Kneeland. The Wonders of the Yosemite Valley, and of California. Boston: Alexander Moore, 1871. FIRST EDITION.

From the Collection of Jay N. Guerber

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Printed Books & Early American Photography, including Selections from the Larry Ness Collection

[Muir, John (1838-1914)]. Kneeland, Samuel (1821-1888). The Wonders of the Yosemite Valley, and of California. Boston: Alexander Moore; Lee & Shepard, 1872.

Printed Books & Early American Photography, including Selections from the Larry Ness Collection

[Muir, John (1838-1914)]. Kneeland, Samuel (1821-1888). The Wonders of the Yosemite Valley, and of California. Boston: Alexander Moore; Lee & Shepard, 1872.

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