Whitney, Josiah Dwight (1819-1896). The Yosemite Guide-Book. A Description of the Yosemite Valley and the Adjacent Region of the Sierra Nevada and of the Big Trees of California. Cambridge, MA: Welch, Bigelow & Co., 1869.

4to (229 x 165 mm). 2 folding maps, numerous in-text illustrations. (Toning, occasional minor offsetting.) Original green cloth gilt (rubbing, sunning to spines). Provenance: S.S. Howland (ownership bookplate).

FIRST EDITION. Josiah Dwight Whitney was an American geologist and chief of the California Geological Survey. In 1869 he published The Yosemite Book, which was among the first to argue for its creation as a national park. During this same period he became engaged in a fierce debate with John Muir over the origins of the region, with Muir theorizing that the valley was carved by glacial action while Whitney maintained that it was due to the gradual sinking of the valley floor; ultimately Whitney's theories were dismissed in favor of Muir's. He is the namesake of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States.

[With:] Another copy. 1870.

From the Collection of Jay N. Guerber

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

Whitney, Josiah Dwight (1819-1896). The Yosemite Guide-Book. A Description of the Yosemite Valley and the Adjacent Region of the Sierra Nevada and of the Big Trees of California. Cambridge, MA: Welch, Bigelow & Co., 1869.

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

Whitney, Josiah Dwight (1819-1896). The Yosemite Guide-Book. A Description of the Yosemite Valley and the Adjacent Region of the Sierra Nevada and of the Big Trees of California. Cambridge, MA: Welch, Bigelow & Co., 1869.

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