{"product_id":"horns-overland-guide-first-edition-colton-map-1852","title":"Horn's Overland Guide, from the U. S. Indian Sub-Agency, Council Bluffs, on the Missouri River, to the City of Sacramento, in California","description":"\u003cp\u003e(Westward Expansion \/ America \/ Overland Guides) \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHORN'S OVERLAND GUIDE, FROM THE U. S. INDIAN SUB-AGENCY, COUNCIL BLUFFS, ON THE MISSOURI RIVER, TO THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO, IN CALIFORNIA;\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e by Hosea B. Horn.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNew York: J. H. Colton, 1852. \u003cstrong\u003eFIRST EDITION\u003c\/strong\u003e, Second Issue. 16mo - 6-1\/4\" x 3-15\/16\". [iii], iv, [3], 8-83, [1] pp. plus 18 pp. publisher's advertisements at rear. Bound in original blind-stamped brown cloth-covered boards with the title stamped in gilt to the center of the front cover. Plain endpapers. Complete with the large folding map measuring 13-3\/4\" H x 20-3\/4\" W attached inside the back cover. Housed in a custom collector's green half-leather over matching cloth-covered board slipcase with gilt titles and ornate decoration to the spine. This copy represents the scarce second issue of the first edition, distinguished by the inclusion of the \"opinions of the press\" on page [5], and the longer pagination of the main text.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe physical condition of the item is graded \u003cstrong\u003eVERY GOOD\u003c\/strong\u003e (utilizing the standard antiquarian book grading scale for works on paper). The cloth binding is remarkably clean and tight, showing only light wear to the corners and to the head and tail of the spine, along with two light abrasions to the front cover; the internal leaves are clean with occasional mild toning, featuring a small, localized wormhole in the final three blank leaves at the rear; the fragile folding map is exceptionally well-preserved, showing only a few minor splits at the intersections of the folds without loss; the accompanying slipcase exhibits some rubbing to the corners and spine ends.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMid-Nineteenth-Century Overland Guidebooks and Cartographic Reliability\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublished just three years after the initial spark of the California Gold Rush, Hosea B. Horn’s manual stood as the definitive administrative and geographic handbook for emigrants traversing the central route. Unlike many speculative, third-party guides compiled by stay-at-home eastern publishers, Horn's guide was uniquely distinguished by its scientific precision. Horn, who operated from the U.S. Indian Sub-Agency at Council Bluffs, tracked the entire overland route utilizing a mechanical road-measurer (or odometer). This allowed him to establish an incredibly strict and reliable table of distances starting from the Council Bluffs Agency Ferry and ending in Sacramento City. The detailed notations systematically trace critical survival resources, pinpointing rivers, creeks, lakes, springs, mountains, and camp sites, alongside practical remarks regarding regional timber quality, forage grasses, and road conditions. Prominent Americana collector Thomas W. Streeter lauded it as \"one of the best of the guides, as it is one of the few where the distances were closely measured,\" while bibliographer Wright Howes declared it \"the best handbook for the central route available at the time.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSeries Bibliography, Census, and Market Scarcity\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"p-rc_6b55e7607b482276-72\" data-path-to-node=\"11\"\u003eDue to the grueling physical conditions of the overland trail, guidebooks of this era were treated as highly utilitarian ephemera. While copies have steadily found their way into institutional preservation over the last century, locating a copy in original, unrestored publisher's cloth with the fragile folding map completely intact remains an exceptional challenge for the active collector. Because these maps were printed on delicate paper and repeatedly unfolded in wind, rain, and dust on the trail, they are routinely found with heavy tape repairs, severe loss, or missing entirely. Unrestored examples that survive in this state of preservation are increasingly difficult to acquire on the private market. \u003cspan class=\"citation-2658\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2657 citation-2658\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2656 citation-2657 citation-2658\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2655 citation-2656 citation-2657 citation-2658 citation-end-2658\"\u003eIt remains a legendary cornerstone of Western Americana, heavily cited across primary bibliographies including Howes H641, Cowan (p. 292), and Streeter (3170).\u003csup data-turn-source-index=\"64\" class=\"superscript embedded\"\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2655 citation-2656 citation-2657 citation-end-2657\"\u003e\u003csup data-turn-source-index=\"65\" class=\"superscript embedded\"\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2655 citation-2656 citation-end-2656\"\u003e\u003csup data-turn-source-index=\"66\" class=\"superscript embedded\"\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2655 citation-end-2655\"\u003e\u003csup data-turn-source-index=\"67\" class=\"superscript embedded\"\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"p-rc_6b55e7607b482276-73\" data-path-to-node=\"12\"\u003e\u003cb data-index-in-node=\"0\" data-path-to-node=\"12\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2651\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2651 citation-2652\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2651 citation-2652 citation-2653\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2651 citation-2652 citation-2653 citation-2654 citation-end-2654\"\u003eTHIS EXCEPTIONALLY WELL-PRESERVED AND MAP-COMPLETE FIRST EDITION COPY\u003csup data-turn-source-index=\"68\" class=\"superscript embedded\"\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2651 citation-2652 citation-2653 citation-end-2653\"\u003e OF \u003cem\u003eHORN'S OVERLAND GUIDE\u003c\/em\u003e REPRESENTS A CRITICAL ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL COLLECT\u003csup data-turn-source-index=\"69\" class=\"superscript embedded\"\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2651 citation-2652 citation-end-2652\"\u003eIONS OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF WESTWARD EXPANSION, AMERICAN CARTOGRAP\u003csup data-turn-source-index=\"70\" class=\"superscript embedded\"\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"citation-2651 citation-end-2651\"\u003eHY, OR THE CALIFORNIA GO\u003csup data-turn-source-index=\"71\" class=\"superscript embedded\"\u003e\u003c!----\u003e\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eLD RUSH.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"12\"\u003e# 000810\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43244508217493,"sku":null,"price":12000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0459\/2589\/2245\/products\/hornsoverlandguide0120190408.jpg?v=1676513996","url":"https:\/\/wallaceandclark.com\/products\/horns-overland-guide-first-edition-colton-map-1852","provider":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}