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Two Samuel Bowles Books on the West (1868 & 1869) [202384]

Currency:USD Category:Books / Antiquarian & Collectible Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 300.00 USD
Two Samuel Bowles Books on the West (1868 & 1869) [202384]
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[?]Live Online Auction Starts In 2025 Nov 03 @ 08:00 (UTC-07:00 : PDT/MST)
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Lot of 2 different. Samuel Bowles (1826-1878) was an influential American journalist and long-time editor of the Springfield Republican newspaper in Massachusetts. A vigorous advocate of political reform and expansion, he traveled widely in the United States and became especially known for his vivid travel accounts of the American West during the 1860s and 1870s. His books helped shape Eastern and national perceptions of the frontier, balancing admiration for natural beauty with commentary on mining towns, railroads, politics, and Native American issues. 1) Across the Continent: A Summer's Journey to the Rocky Mountains, the Mormons, and the Pacific States. 1868. Front has map of Territories & Pacific States that is 14.5 x 18". 452pp. Some toning and foxing. Across the Continent is Bowles's account of his first western journey, traveling with Speaker Schuyler Colfax's party from the Missouri River to California shortly after the Civil War. The book describes the expanding railroads, the Great Plains, and the Rocky Mountains, offering early portrayals of Denver, Salt Lake City, and the Mormon community. 2) Our New West: Records of Travel Between the Mississippi River and Pacific Ocean. 1869. 524pp. Looks to be an old rebinding. Inside pretty clean. Our New West, published in 1869, is a more extensive and polished account of Bowles's later travels, covering the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, Pacific Coast, and the mining frontier. The work emphasizes the transformative role of the transcontinental railroad, which had just been completed, in opening the West to tourism, commerce, and migration. Bowles devotes significant attention to Colorado, California, and Oregon, highlighting their mineral wealth, agriculture, and natural attractions like Yosemite and the Rocky Mountain scenery. He continues to comment on Native American affairs, often from the perspective of assimilation and progress, reflecting 19th-century attitudes. More comprehensive than Across the Continent, the book positions the West as America's future heartland of prosperity and cultural renewal.
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Date: 1868-69
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Provenance: Noel Kirshenbaum Geochemical Engineer Collection