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kelly excursion to california 1851

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Title: An Excursion to California over the Prairie, Rocky Mountains, and Great Sierra Nevada. With a Stroll Through the Diggings and Ranches of that Country
Author: Kelly, William
Description: 2 volumes. x, 342; vii, 334 pp., 1 advert. leaf. (Small 8vo) 20x12 cm. (7¾x4¾) original green cloth ornately embossed in blind, spines replaced with plain green buckram, printed paper lettering pieces. First Edition.Early account by a Britisher who sailed from England in January of 1849, making the journey westward through Buffalo, Chicago and St. Louis, to the jumping off point in Missouri. "William Kelly left Westport on April 6, 1849, and arrived in the diggings at Pleasant Valley on July 26, having spent 102 days traveling.... His description of the journey and of life in California is lively and interesting..." - Wagner-Camp. Kurutz notes that the second volume, A Stroll through the Diggings..., "contains one of the most detailed and enlightening accounts of life in the mines. His wanderings took him to the major districts of the Northern Mines, including the Trinity Mountains and quicksilver mines near San Jose. Kelly also observed the Indians; remnants of the Spanish and Mexican pueblos, ranchos, and missions; and the bustling and frenetic life of San Francisco...." The attractive 20th century binding on the present copy has four gilt-tooled vignette scenes of California and the Gold Rush on each spine. Cowan p.325; Graff 2298; Howes K68; Kurutz 370a; Mattes 515; Mintz 269; Rocq 15895; Sabin 37321; Streeter 2670; Wagner-Camp 200:1; Wheat Gold Rush 115. Scarce.
Heading: Place Published: London
Publisher: Chapman & Hall
Date Published: 1851