Mapping the Transmississippi West, 1540-1861 [with] Mapping the Transmississippi West, 1540-1861: An Index to the Cartobibliography by Wheat, Carl I.; Seavey, Charles A. (Index) - 1963

San Francisco: The Institute of Historical Cartography [Volume I printed by The Grabhorn Press], 1963. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. One of 1000 copies, five volumes in six (complete), with original dust jackets, folio size, 1938 total pp., plus separate Index volume, with announcement/prospectus to Volume One and prospectus to Volume Two. Carl Irving Wheat (1892-1966), in addition to authoring an important bibliography on the works of the California Gold Rush as well as several other books, is perhaps best remembered for this set which has been called his "milestone work". Wheat's inspiration came with the rediscovery of a copy of the 1847 Fremont map with manuscript emendations by George Gibbs from an unknown source, and which showed, in pencil, the travels by western explorer Jedediah Smith; the set not only shows the significant maps of each era of exploration, but also tells the history behind their making, of the people behind the geography. The first volume of this five-volume set, printed in six books, was printed by the inimitable Grabhorn Press, and the subsequent volumes match their design; Volumes Two through Four were printed by Taylor & Taylor, and Volume Five was printed by the James Printing Company. The set is replete with maps, some fold-out, gorgeous in their attention to detail and design, of the western United States and Mexico; each volume is in the original brown paper dust jacket. Accompanying the set is an Index volume by Charles A. Seavey, accomplishing what must have been the daunting task of organising and alphabetising the maps found throughout the volumes; included also is the announcement / prospectus for Volume One, printed by the Grabhorn Press, and the prospectus for Volume Two, both featuring reproductions of the title pages from their respective volumes and important information about the content of the books. A masterpiece of cartography, this set showcases Wheat at his best: as a lover of geography, of exploration, of history, and of the stories left in the scope of the land imprinted at each stage of its mapping. ___DESCRIPTION: Quarter green pebbled cloth with tan cloth boards, gilt lettering and decoration on the spine, fore-edges rough cut, all volumes but Part Two of Volume Five with colour frontispiece of different maps, title pages in red and black, each chapter with red initial capital, all volumes illustrated throughout with copious maps, reproduced in black-and-white, some fold-out; Van Dijck type, Curtis rag paper, folio size (14.5" by 10.5"), pagination: Volume One: [i-iv] v-xiii [xiv] 1-264; Volume Two: [i-iv] v-xiii [xiv] 1-281; Volume Three: [i-iv] v-v-xiii [xiv] 1-349; Volume Four: [i-iv] v-xiii [xiv] 1-260; Volume Five, part one: [i-iv] v-xviii [xix-xx] 1-222; Volume Five, part two: [i-iv] 223-487, one of 1000 copies, unnumbered. Each volume in a brown paper dust wrapper. The Index volume with full blue cloth, gilt lettering on the spine, beige endpapers, black-and-white photograph of Carl I. Wheat following the title page; octavo size (9.25" by 6"), pagination: [2] [i] ii-viii 1-210. With the prospectus for Volume One, softcover stapled at the spine, printed in red and black with a reproduction of the title page, and the prospectus for Volume Two, one sheet folded once to make four pages, printed in red and black. ___CONDITION: All volumes are fine, with clean boards, straight corners with no rubbing, strong, square text blocks with solid hinges, the interiors are clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; faint off-setting to the free endpapers from the dust wrappers, else fine. The plain tan dust wrappers are near fine, unclipped, clean overall with a few stray marks here and there, light edge wear to the heads and tails of the spine, some shallow creases; Part One of Volume Five with a small chip to the rear edge of the spine and a small closed tear (one inch) at the tail of the spine, both wrappers of the two books of Volume Five with stamped numerals "1" and "2" at the tail of the spines by a prior owner. The Index volume is fine, with clean boards, straight corners with no rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; very light rubbing to the head and tail of the spine. The prospectus for Volume One is very good, the interior pages are clean and bright, with soiling to the outer pages, with very light wear to the edges. The prospectus for Volume Two is fine, clean and without wear. ___CITATION: Grabhorn Press Bibliography no. 590 (Volume One only). ___POSTAGE: Please note that this is a very large and heavy set, and therefore additional postage will apply; we are happy to ship at cost to both domestic and international customers, please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.