The Writings of John Muir: The Manuscript Edition.

MUIR, John.

$10,000.00

Item Number: 143457

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916-24.

The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of John Muir, one of 750 numbered sets produced with an original autograph manuscript page bound into the first volume. Octavo, 10 volumes in the publisher’s deluxe three quarter crushed levant morocco over cloth boards with gilt titles and tulip stamping to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt with others untrimmed, ribbons bound in, illustrated with 69 photogravures, including colored frontispiece, 34 halftone plates of the author’s sketches, 7 maps, and 2 plates of his drawings.

One of 750 numbered sets with an original manuscript page bound into the first volume, this is number 589. A portion of the original manuscript of The Mountains of California, the manuscript page describes, in part, Muir’s experience climbing Mt. Langley in 1871 (published in part as last paragraph on pp. 76 in Vol. IV): “…you see stretching from the spurs of Ritter a row of exceedingly sharp and slender spires in the foreground rising to a height of about a thousand feet from a series of short glaciers that lean back against their bases.”

Edited by William Frederic Badè. In fine condition. An exceptional example.

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."