These are some of the most beautiful plate books on the United States and Canada ever produced. Volume I contains 24 fine steel engraved views and 284 wood engravings, many full-page including works by Thomas Moran, Harry Fenn, Granville Perkins, James D. Smillie and other important American artists of the 19th century. This volume contains works on Yellowstone, Yosemite, Richmond, Savannah, Charleston, Watkins Glen, Mackinac, the California Coast, the Golden Gate, and the terrific steel engraved frontispiece of Niagara Falls. Volume II contains 25 steel engraved views and hundreds of wood engravings, many full-page including works by Harry Fenn, Granville Perkins, A.C. Warren, F.O.C. Darley and others. Volume II contains New York City, the Mammoth Cave, the Northwest, Chicago, Milwaukee, the Canons of the Colorado, the Rocky Mountains, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Susquehanna, Boston, and much more. The great "New York, from Brooklyn Heights" is the steel engraved frontispiece. These matching volumes are in full presentation binding in full leather with fancy tooling and embossing with gilt, raised bands on spine. The front cover is stamped with gilt title. All edges gilt (A.E.G.) Volume I - 568 pp., Volume II - 576 pp.

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Condition: B+

The plates are in near fine condition, with an occasional tiny spot, and a small damp stain in the bottom corner of the last few plates in Volume II, far from image. The text is lightly toned. The hinges are starting, and the front cover of Volume II is completely detached. The covers and spine show heavy wear.