Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842, and to Oregon and North California in the Years 1843-'44 (2 volumes)

Washington: Gales and Seaton, 1845. First edition, Senate issue. Hardcover. Very Good. 693pp. Octavo [23.5 cm] Decoratively embossed brown cloth over boards, with a gilt stamped title on the spine. Spine and joints skillfully restored. Extremities moderately rubbed. Underlying boards exposed at the corners. Front free endpaper beginning to detach at the head. Pages intermittently lightly foxed and darkened. Some uncut pages at the rear. Folding map at p. 132 has a 5" closed tear. Botanical plate at p. 312 trimmed close at fore-edge. A couple of the Fossil and Botany plates are out of order, however all are present. Complete. The second volume consists of the large map housed in a plain brown thick card clamshell (does not quite close completely) and slipcase. Title printed on the spine of the slipcase in black. The map is in good condition only with a couple of large closed, creased tears along with a handful of small splits to the folds. The tears measure approximately 18 inches long. Senate 174, 28th Congress, 2d Session. With 22 single-sided plates and 5 maps, including the large folding map by Charles Preuss. Preuss's large map of the west is one of the most fascinating government maps of the 1840's, filling in many of the gaps in the cartographic understanding of the west.

John Fremont's expeditions of 1842 and 1843-44 were the most spectacular reconnaissance of the American West since Lewis and Clark. Performed under the auspices of the Army Bureau of Topographical Engineers, the expedition's published reports and maps brought a factor of dependability and trustworthiness that would aid American settlement of the West. Fremont's report contained the most detailed observations of the western territories at the time. The country covered by the report was previously terra incognito--Brigham Young is said to have used the report as a guide in bringing the Mormon people West. Utah was then part of Mexico and would first become Deseret and then Utah territory. One of the seminal works for any western or Utah collector. Wright Howes F-372 (Senate Issue). Wagner/Camp 115.1. Zamorano Eighty: 39. Moffat 12 (Large map).