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. Octavo, hardbound, quarter calf with gray cloth covers, 583 pp., 23 plates and 4 maps (of 5 - lacks the large folding map). 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: cf. Wagner-Camp 115:2.

Condition: B

There is scattered foxing throughout the pages and plates, with a few pages marked with a highlighter (yellow), but the contents are tight. Both maps have scattered foxing and one has archival tape on verso to reinforce the folds. Covers and spine show some light wear and the edges are bumped.