This is the second American edition of an unauthorized account of Lewis & Clark's expedition to the Pacific Ocean. This spurious account was published due to strong public interest in the topic coupled with the fact that the authorized version had not yet been released (1814). Given the limited information on the actual journey (Patrick Gass, Sergeant of the Corps of Discovery, had published his account in 1807), the author was reliant on information in the public domain and "partly from other authors who travelled among the various tribes of Indians." The author goes as far as adding a preface and introduction borrowed from Thomas Jefferson's communications to Congress and calling it a "recommendation" from the President. This "apocryphal edition" was first published in 1809 in London and Philadelphia, followed by German editions in 1811 and 1812. Compiled by William Fisher and published by James Sharan in Philadelphia. The present example includes one portrait and two title pages as noted in Howes "aa."

References: Howes #F153aa; Wagner-Camp #8:6; Sabin #24509.

Condition: B+

Internally good (B) with overall light toning and scattered foxing. New binding is pristine (A+).