Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains
Chicago: Donohue Brothers, [c. 1900]. Reprint. Publisher's maroon cloth, spine titled in gilt. Pages toned, mild shelf wear, spine faded, boards with some mild surfacing, still very good or better. Item #240157
TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY IRVING
A circa 1900 reprint of Astoria stands as a plain but evocative survival of one of the earliest literary treatments of the American West. First published in 1836, Irving’s account of John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company translates frontier enterprise into polished narrative, blending documentary history with a distinctly literary sensibility. In its unadorned publisher’s cloth, this later edition reflects the work’s passage from ambitious national chronicle to standard reading on westward expansion. Such copies, though modest in form, testify to the continued appetite for narratives of exploration and commerce, carrying Irving’s vision of the early American frontier into the hands of a broad, turn-of-the-century readership.
Price: $20.00