A journey to California with observations about the country, climate and the route to this country by John Bidwell a day-by-day record of the journey from May 18, 1841, to November 6, 1841 with an introduction by Herbert Ingram Priestley Librarian of the Bancroft Library University of California. San Francisco: John Henry Nash Printer, 1937. 29.2x20.8 cm, pp. [1-4: blank] [i-ii] iii-ix [x] 1-48 [49-50], original terra cotta boards with gray linen shelf back, printed paper label affixed to the spine. First separate edition. Most authorities agree that Bartleson-Bidwell party, the first immigrant train to cross the Sierra Nevada, passed over the main crest of the range about twelve miles north of Sonora Pass. "John Bidwell (1819-1900) became a prominent figure in California. In 1849 he acquired the Rancho Arroyo Chico in Butte County and developed it with orchards, vineyards, other agricultural products, and livestock. The city of Chico was founded upon his ranch. There he lived for fifty years until his death in 1900 ... The original journal kept by Bidwell during the 1841 migration has never been found. The printed form ... is, by his own statement, an abridgment" (Francis P. Farquhar). Cowan (1933), pp. 51-52. Howes B433. A fine copy in fine dust jacket. (#166400).
No statement of printing.