Diseños of California Ranchos, Maps of thirty-seven Land Grants [1822-1846]; From the Records of the United States District Court, San Francisco by Becker, Robert H - 1964

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, printed by The Grabhorn Press, 1964. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. One of 400 copies, folio size, [122] pp., with original sales correspondence laid in. In 1961 the U.S. District Court in San Francisco decided to place a large collection of diseños (sketches presented to Mexican governors with petitions for land grants) in the Bancroft Library for safekeeping, which made them accessible for publication in this monumental work. The diseños are all unique in themselves, drawn up by the petitioners in a variety of mediums, and selected for this volume by foremost expert Robert Becker, who wrote an explanatory essay to accompany each of the thirty-seven examples. " 'No other single group of documents so vividly and poignantly reveals the devastating, catastrophic changes that were visited upon the Californios in a mere twenty years', Becker wrote in the 'California Monthly' of March 1963" (N.B., from BCC bibliography). Roby Wentz, the Grabhorn historian, called it "one of the great Grabhorn books." One of the many books the Grabhorn brothers printed for The Book Club of California, and one which well shows their mastery of the great art of printing.

___DESCRIPTION: Quarter linen and terra cotta, yellow, brown and white decorative paper covered boards, initial letters in title, preface and introduction in red, thirty-seven tipped-in plates (twenty-four fold-out) of which twenty-six are in colour (not included in pagination), with thirty-seven line sketches of maps in text; Centaur type (both handset and monotype), machine made paper, folio size (14.25" by 9 3/8"), pagination: [i-xxiv] [1-98], limited edition of 400 copies. This copy from the library of the original owner, with his attractive bookplate, and two letters between him and David Magee regarding the purchase of the book at the time of publication.

___CONDITION: A near fine copy, internally bright and free of prior owner markings (except bookplate mentioned above), text block is tight with solid hinges, the binding is clean, the corners straight and unrubbed, the plates are clean and complete; a hint of shelf wear at edges (none so much as to chip the paper covers), overall a near fine copy of a special Grabhorn publication.

___CITATIONS: BCC 200, no. 118; Grabhorn Press Bibliography 1957-1966, no. 648.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

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