Fremont and his colleagues covered some 10,000 miles between the frontiers of the Missouri and the shores of the Pacific. The report made substantial contributions in the fields of surveying, topography, and natural history. Fremont's report was the most widely read account of the West before the gold rush, and its contents and maps had a profound effect on the development of emigration routes. The expedition party included such notable explorers as the German topographical surveyor Charles Preuss, the American guides L. Maxwell and Christopher Kit Carson and the celebrated botanist John Torrey. The lithograph plates in this report include illustrations of both the countryside and flora, as well as plates of fossils, ferns and shells.

This is the House of Representatives issue, which preceded the Senate version. Hardbound in brown embossed cloth, 583 pp., 23 plates, 4 maps (of 5 - missing large folding map at back). The body of the book contains Fremont's two reports, titled "A Report on an Exploration of the Country lying between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains," and "A Report of the Exploring Expedition to Oregon and North California, in the Years 1843-'44."

References: Sabin 25845, Wagner-Camp 115:2.

Condition: B

Scattered foxing on most text pages. Four plates toned or foxed, all maps toned or foxed. Signatures tight. Cover rubbed with cracks along spine and small portion at upper spine missing.