L. W. Currey, Inc.

Peck, George Washington, writing as "Cantell A. Bigly." AURIFODINA; OR, ADVENTURES IN THE GOLD REGION by Cantell A. Bigly [pseudonym]. New York: Baker and Scribner, 1849. 12mo, pp. [1-3] 4 [5] 6-103 [104: blank] [105-108: ads], original drab boards, no spine label. First edition. One of the earliest American lost race novels, and the first novel written by an American to be set in California. Seeking a route through the Sierra Nevada, the narrator finds "Aurifodina," a kingdom inhabited by an unknown race of golden haired people who have established a pastoral utopia and where gold is abundant and of little value. "This work is somewhat peripheral to the utopian tradition, but in the best tradition of the fantastic voyage to El Dorado." - Lewis, Utopian Literature, p, 144. "A satiric extravaganza ..." - Sabin 5350. See DAB. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 204. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 074. Howgego, Encyclopedia of Exploration: Invented and Apocryphal Narratives of Travel P11. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, p. 50. Reginald 01280. Not in Bleiler (1948; 1978). Wright (I) 2030. Baird and Greenwood, An Annotated Bibliography of California Fiction 1664-1970 1995. Cowan (1933), p. 477. Kurutz 490a. Boards rubbed and spotted, outer joints repaired, possibly rebacked, a very good copy with tight, clean interior. An uncommon book. (#137403).

Price: $850.00