Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California
San Francisco: Hutchings and Rosenfield, 1861.
[3]-4-236 pp, with 93 illustrations, bound in publisher's blue cloth with decoration. Corners rubbed through, cloth partially split along front joint, some pale staining to boards, small repair to title page, but still very good overall. Front free endpaper inscribed "George F. Noyes, San Francisco, June 18th, 1861." Noyes was an attorney who practiced law in California as early as 1852 and was a partner in the San Francisco firm Janes, Noyes & Barber.
First edition, second printing of "the first book-length description of the state's natural attractions and the first work to describe the big trees and the Yosemite region in detail" (Currey & Kruska 164). The second printing was made from the plates of the 1860 first and is unchanged other than the date. Born in England, Hutchings came to California for the Gold Rush in 1849, lived for several years in the mining regions, and eventually became one of the most dedicated and energetic promoters of California and particularly the Yosemite Valley. He commissioned illustrations for his Hutchings California Magazine (published from 1856 to 1861), which "preserved a good deal of material depicting the life and scenes of California in the decade following the Gold Rush...especially with respect to Yosemite, the Big Trees, and other scenic wonders (Farquhar 4). The illustrations and much of the text of the first edition of Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity were extracted from the magazine. Hutchings and his wife ran the Hutchings House hotel in Yosemite from 1864-1874, and from 1880 to 1884 Hutchings served as Guardian of the Park (then owned by the State of California).
Item #24201
Price: $500.00