The Writings of John Muir: The Manuscript Edition.

MUIR, John.

Item Number: 36014

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916-24.

The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of John Muir. Octavo, 10 volumes, original special deluxe three quarters morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine spines, raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, manuscript page from Muir bound into volume one. Illustrated with numerous photogravure and halftone plates, the gravure plates, tissue guards, each with photogravure frontispiece, with the first seven hand-colored; folding map in volume two. Edited by William Frederic Badè. With a manuscript leaf from John Muir in volume one, which he describes Lake Moraine in the Sierra Nevada. It was published in Chapter 5 of The Mountains of California. The holograph text is written in brown ink with additional pencil emendations. The edited text reads: “…I was aware. Looking back from the shores of Moran Lake my morning ramble seemed all a dream. There curved Bloody Canon, a mere glacial furrow 2000 feet deep, with red [later changed to smooth] rocks, ribs [ribs later taken out] proceeding [later changed to projecting] from the sides and braided together in the middle, like rounded [later changed to bulging], swelling muscles. Here the lilies were [text ends here but published text would continue with]: higher than my head, and the sunshine was warm enough for palms. Yet the snow around the arctic willows was plainly visible only four miles away, and between were narrow specimen zones of all the principal climates of the globe.” In near fine condition with light rubbing.

John Muir was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books describing his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada, have been read by millions. His activism has helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and many other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is a prominent American conservation organization. The 211-mile John Muir Trail, a hiking trail in the Sierra Nevada, was named in his honor. Other such places include Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier. In Scotland, the John Muir Way, a 130-mile-long route, was named in honor of him. In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite National Park. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings has inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. Today Muir is referred to as the "Father of the National Parks."