Geographical Memoir upon Upper California, In Illustration of His Map of Oregon and California Fremont, John Charles [Charles Preuss] Western Americana

67pp. Octavo [22.5 cm] Light blue printed wrappers, Better than very good. Gentle wear to corners. Laid in is the smaller version of the major cartographical work by Charles Preuss, 'Map of Oregon and Upper California from the Surveys of John Charles Fremont and other Authorities.' Map in nice condition. The accompanying 1850 Preuss map, 'Map of Oregon and Upper California from the Surveys of John Charles Fremont and other Authorities.' is the smaller version of the 1848 map [48 cm x 42 cm] that excludes the Oregon and Missouri Territories. This was issued as a separate map [31st Cong., Sess., House Doc 17], and was issued to supply the demand of gold-seekers. According to many authorities the 1848 map was issued with very few (if any) of the monographs. Howes: "Map by Preuss not issued in all copies, if any, but intended to accompany the pamphlet." Camp: "Apparently the Wagner copy had in it a reduced map. yet showing an improved rendering of Fremont's routes in 1846 in the Central Valley of California." Cowan: "The large folding map is usually not found, as it accompanied but a few copies of this work." This is the first map to include reference to the Golden Gate at the entrance of San Francisco Bay and the first to locate the gold fields 'El Dorado' or Gold Region. This map is also the first to locate the Humboldt River, that was given its name by this map. The 'Great Basin' was also named by this map. The 'Mormon Settlements' are located to the east of the Great Salt Lake. This is the rarer and smaller version, that excludes the Missouri and Oregon Territories, and only shows California and the Great Basin portion of 1848, that Fremont issued as a separate map. The monograph is one of the only detailed reports to come out of Fremont's ill-fated Third Expedition and was prepared to illustrate the Preuss map. John Charles Fremont (1813-1890), was an American military officer and one of the great American explorers. Fremont mapped most of the Oregon Trail and during the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Fremont the epithet. 'The Pathfinder.' Fremont was also the first to run for President as a Republican candidate. Map: Wheat: 559 Wheat, Gold Region: 41. Moffatt 17. Monograph: Eberstadt 114: 914. Fales & Flake 13. Flake/Draper 3451. Graff 1429. Howes F366. Kurutz 256. Paher 637. Sabin 25837. Wagner Camp 150. Wheat Gold Rush 78.