[GRIZZLY ADAMS]

Life of J.C. Adams, Known as Old Adams, Old Grizzly Adams, Containing a Truthful Account of His Bear Hunts, Fights with Grizzly Bears, Hairbreadth Escapes, in the Rocky and Nevada Mountains, and the Wilds of the Pacific Coast [cover title]

New York: Wynkoop, Hallenbeck & Thomas, Printers, 1860.

First Edition, second issue, containing 53 pages rather than the 29 of the first issue. 6.25" x 4.25". Good only; lacks wrappers (supplied in photocopy), final signature detached from rest of text block, some staining to first and last leaves. Housed in a custom folding cloth box.

Rare first-hand account of adventures in the West by famed mountain man and animal trainer Grizzly Adams. Born John Adams in Medway, Massachusetts in 1812, Adams headed for California in 1849. He tried his hand (with little success) at mining, trading, and ranching before abandoning these pursuits for a solitary life in what he described as the "most unfrequented parts of the Sierra Nevada. " He first explored Yosemite Valley in 1854. This 53-page autobiographical narrative was "issued during the summer of 1860 as part of an exhibition in which Adams participated with P. T. Barnum in New York," according to Wagner-Camp (347:2), and is unrelated to Theodore Hittell's well-known Adventures of James Capen Adams, Mountaineer and Grizzly Bear Hunter of California (San Francisco, 1860), which was based on extensive interviews with Adams. Currey & Kruska (1) note that "This account of Adams' life varies in specifics from [that of Hittell]. The copyright, for 1860, is by J. C. Adams, and the caption title at head of page one states that the account was 'written by himself,' although Barnum's literary influence is evident. " A good copy of a very scarce work, which has not appeared at auction since 1971. Graff 15, Howes A-57.

Item #24184

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