California: for health, pleasure, and residence. A book for travellers and settlers. By Charles Nordhoff. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, Franklin Square, 1872. 22.5x16.2 cm (octavo), pp. [5-11] 12 [13] 14 [15] 16 [17] 18-255 [256: blank] [257-260: ads] [1]-4: ads, flyleaves at front and rear, 54 illustrations and 4 maps, original decorated brown cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black and gold, rear panel stamped in black, brown coated endpapers. First edition. Charles Nordhoff (1830-1901), sailor, adventurer, newspaper correspondent and author of many books, "wrote the most popular California booster book of all time -- CALIFORNIA: FOR HEALTH, PLEASURE, AND RESIDENCE (1872), which sold three million copies and stimulated a never ending flow of immigration to the Golden State" (Powell, California Classics, p. 18). Nordhoff, a Prussian-born immigrant, "dedicated his life and writings to fostering an understanding of the democratic way of life in America and to furthering the national prosperity. He was particularly interested in the working man, in agriculture, and in cooperative societies ... His purpose in visiting the Pacific Coast soon after the completion of the transcontinental railroad was to get information about the resources of the western slope for travel and for immigration. Although he dealt with California as a whole, he paid particular attention to the southern part of the state, where, he felt, the agricultural possibilities had hardly been tapped and the climate was especially healthful for patients with rheumatic and pulmonary diseases" (Walker, A Literary History of Southern California, p. 107). See DAB for an account of Nordhoff's life and career. According to Nordhoff, "among the sights in California most attractive to the tourist, the groves of Big Trees and the wonderful Yosemite Valley are, of course, the chief" (page 63). His useful recommendations and hints to those planning a trip to the Yosemite Valley and the Big Trees are found on pages 69-83. There are fourteen wood-engraved illustrations from photographs and one map of Yosemite Valley. Gift inscription on the front flyleaf. Cloth worn at spine ends and corner tips, some spotting and scuffing to cloth, a tight, good copy. (#168934).
No statement of printing.