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First edition. Philadelphia: Published by Bradford and Inskeep; New York: Abm. H. Inskeep; J. Maxwell, Printer; 1814. Two volumes. Octavo in 4s (8 5/16" x 5 1/4", 211mm x 134mm). [Full collation available.] With five engraved plates (lacking the folding map). Bound in contemporary sheep. On the spines, six panels divided by blind fillets. Title gilt to black morocco in the second panel. Number gilt to fourth panel in the fourth panel. Paper label (perished) in the sixth panel. Shelfmark (192) ink to the first panel of vol. I. Vol. I: closed tear to the tail, with some loss at the front hinge. Upper fore-corners worn at the turn-ins. Rubbed. Title-piece partly perished. Lacking the folding map. First free end-paper partially perished, with the remainder laid down to the front paste-down. Marginal loss to a1. Losses to B2 and E3, with some marginal wear through quire I (with fore-edge loss to the first plate). On the front paste-down, the early ink manuscript ownership of the "Williamstown [Library]/ No 192". Inventory number repeated on the verso of the final leaf. Vol. II: hinges cracked. Loss to upper front fore-corner. Fore-corners bumped. Rubbed. Title-piece partly perished. Lacking two initial leaves and two final leaves (the final leaf blank). A2-4 loose. On the front paste-down, the early ink manuscript ownership of the "Williamstown Library/ No 193/ Price 2,00". Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) and William Clark (1770-1838), both captains in the army (Clark in the Illinois militia; Lewis was Thomas Jefferson's private secretary), were commissioned by Jefferson to co-command the Corps of Discovery, a unit whose mission was the exploration of the newly purchased Louisiana Territory, with an ultimate view to reaching to the Pacific. In addition to their military corps, they were accompanied by civilians including Sacajawea, who served as an interpreter more often than as a guide, but also, crucially, "a token of peace" as "a woman with a party of men." Their achievement -- 8,000 miles in some 28 months, navigating the Missouri to its source, identifying land routes to the Pacific -- was not only of exceptional use to the government, it lit the fuse of the public imagination of the West. The official nature of the account makes it exceptionally reliable, and provides the earliest evidence for some of the natural history and native people in the United States. It is unclear to which Williamstown's (New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts) library these books belonged. They were clearly well-thumbed, a testament to the popularity of the account. Church 1309; Field 928; Graff 2477; Grolier American 100, 30; Howes L317, PMM2 272; Sabin 40828; Streeter III:1777; Wagner-Camp-Becker 13:1; Wheat Transmississippi 316. Seller Inventory # 6JLR0113
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