Jonathan Carver

Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America in the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768.

      8vo. pp. 4 p.l., [20], xvi, [17]-543, [1] directions to binder, 2 engraved folding maps & 4 engraved plates. 19th century gilt stamped full calf with raised bands at spine. Carver's book was an immediate success when first published in 1778, and a second London edition followed the next year; over thirty editions and versions have been published since in several languages. A very important book in the history of the exploration of the American West as Carver was the first English-speaking explorer to venture west of the upper Mississippi River. He anticipated the idea of a contintental divide as he was the first to mention a large mountain range to the south (presumably the Rocky Mountains) that blocks the westward passage and serves as a continental divide. Further, the name 'Oregon' appears in print here for the first time, both in the text, and on one of the maps. "Carver penetrated farther into the West than any other English explorer before the Revolution...[and] stimulated curios [Publisher: Printed for the author and sold by J. Walter at Charing-cross and S. Crowder in Pater-noster Row.]