History of the Rise, Progress and Existing Condition of the Western Canals in the State of New-York, from September, 1788 to the Completion of the Middle Section of the Grand Canal, in 1819

22x14 cm. Contemporary 1/2 leather, well worn, leather largely perished, spine split. First edition. iv, [5] - 104, [4], [111] - 210, [2] pp., two maps (One folding), one plate (lacking frontispiece portrait), 2 facsimiles of certificates (1 double-page), Scattered light foxing. Pages 25-51 contain "Journal of Travels, principally by Water, from Albany to the Seneca Lake, in 1791. By Elkanah Watson.", one of the earliest works in which an author described a trip westward by water in New York State. While the pagination is continuous, there is a second title page for "History of Agriculturual Societies, on the Modern Berkshire System ." American Imprints 4187; Howes W166; Rink, Technical Americana 4736.