LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE CONQUEST by ROBINSON, Alfred - 1925

San Francisco: The Private Press of Thomas Russell, 1925. Reprint after the first edition of 1846. Cloth-backed boards. Very Good -/Clear Mylar (Custom). (xxvii), 316, (4, including two pages of advertisements for other Russell books). #209 of a limited edition of 250 numbered and signed copies. SIGNED by Thomas C. Russell. Illustrated, including illustrations by Robinson himself, reproduced by the mezzotint process. Linen-backed boards. Paper spine label. 6 3/4" x 10". t.e.g. Extra spine label in rear endpapers. Per Zamorano 80, #65: "The author and translator, Alfred Robinson, came to California as a super-cargo in 1829. He married into the de la Guerra family, one of the most prominent of the territory. Unquestioned as an authority, his work is without doubt the most important book for the period it treats, and is interesting as the first English book on California to be written by a resident of the province. Robinson originally intended his Life in California to be a preface for Fray Boscana's Chinigchinich, but in the end the "tail wagged the dog" and for the historian the Life in California is vastly more important." Apart from its historical importance, this book is a beautiful example of the astonishing presswork of Thomas C. Russell. After Russell's death, a San Francisco bookseller acquired the contents of Russell's printshop and produced a number of Russell's titles, and caused Russell's signature to be forged in each book. Unknowing dealers often sell these volumes as "signed" when, in fact, they do not contain Russell's true signature. Russell's signature is always in an elegant cursive style and easily identified. This copy, happily, contains Russell's true signature. Graff 3523. Cowan pg 536-7.Covers are rubbed and sunned, with four corners showing; interior fine. Overall a Very Good Minus copy and priced accordingly. Now in a custom clear mylar protective jacket. Always FREE SHIPPING via media mail to any United States address.