Over the Salt Lake Trail in the Fall of '49; An Account; Scraps of Californiana III

Limited Edition. No. 89 of 150 copies printed. "Privately Printed at Los Angeles" on title page. Back colophon: "150 copies of this book have been privately printed for the membership of The Zamorano Club of Los Angeles as a keepsake from John B. Goodman III and Gordon J. Holmquist, No. 89." Original publisher's orange paper-covered boards with beige paper title label on front cover. 6" x 7 3/4." Unpaginated, fourteen pages, complete. One gray and white illustrated frontispiece by "J. Goodman," complete. Original small card on beige paper laid in. The card reads, "Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year in 1958 . J G & G H [John Goodman and Gordon Holmquist]." "Scraps of Californiana III" on half-title. Pages and covers are virtually pristine and intact. Binding is tight. Slight fading along spine. A Fine copy. A limited-edition keepsake for members of the Zamorano Club. This book contains a concise discussion of the enigmatic "Party of Nine or Eleven" and records of said party, which is followed by a reprinted letter by William B. Lorton. The Party of Nine or Eleven braved the Mojave Desert and Death Valley in 1849. Most did not make it. A letter from William B. Lorton is reprinted here after the discussion, the former of which briefly details the inhospitable environment and the plight of those who dared travel through the infamous desert. Excerpt from the first page of text: "The following short account of a journey over the Salt Lake Trail in 1849, was written at Los Angeles, January 30, 1850. It first appeared in the New York Sun, and was reprinted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 11, 1850, page 3, col. 3, 4. . Forgotten and practically unknown for over one-hundred years, Lorton's account so far, is the only one to record the exact number, with their names of what has come to be known as the 'Pinney-Savage Party,' or more commonly referred to as the 'Party of nine or eleven.'".…