Travels in the Central Portions of the Mississippi Valley: Comprising Observations on its Mineral Geography, Internal Resources, and Aboriginal Population

New York: Collins and Hannay, 1825. Hardcover. Very Good -. Hardcover. First Edition. Scarce. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793 -1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi River. In this earlier work, Schoolcraft describes a trip with General Cass, via the Wabash and Ohio Rivers to Illinois and Missouri, returning by the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers to Peoria and Chicago [Howes S193]. He writes extensively about the Native American tribes of the region. Bound in three quarter red leather with giilt titling and with marbled paper boards. Leather is scuffed, rubbed, and bumped. Marbled paper covers are scuffed as well. Indication that there was library label to spine and label removed from rear free endpaper. No other ex-library signs. Text pages are browned with scattered foxing, not affecting legibility. With two fold out maps, one of the area traveled and the other a color plate with a geological sketch of the lead mines. Both have a section separated along one of the folds. Both detached sections are laid in. There are also plates of Mt. Joliet, Fossil footprints, and Rock Fort. A prevous owner, Edward W. West stamped the title page and the back of the maps with his name. Not quite very good but a nice copy. Octavo. 459 pages. TRAVEL/051021.