Scarce Correct First Printing
A Journey through Texas; or, a Saddle-Trip on the Southwestern Frontier: with a Statistical Appendix
Publication: New York: Dix, Edwards & Co., 1857. First Edition.
Notes: One of the best accounts of antebellum Texas, written as a series of letters about life in the slave states, commissioned for the New York Times. This is the second of three volumes (issued separately) in Olmsted's "Our Slave States" series. While not a radical, Olmsted, in sending a copy of this book to Edward Everett Hale, said that he hoped that his book would help slavery to "retreat upon itself" and collapse under its own weight, with "masters running away from the slaves" (Quoted in Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted, vol. 2, p. 398).
Jenkins, in Basic Texas Books, calls this "the most civilized of all 19th century books on Texas" and "the most interesting and most dependable." He also says Olmsted "gives one of the earliest descriptions of the Texas cattle ranch." Greene, in the 50+ Best Books on Texas, writes, "the book is both good reading and good sociology."
Larry McMcMurtry, in his book In a Narrow Grave, called Olmstead "perhaps the most readable of the nineteenth century travelers."
The book includes a small folding map of the state, titled "Map of Part of the State of Texas" prepared by J. H. Colton & Co. of New York. The Salt River fork on the Brazos river marks the northern and western boundary of the map.
This book sold well. It was published at the beginning of 1857, and by February 16, Olmsted reported to his brother (who had accompanied him on the journey and who edited the letters for this publication) that only 200 of the first printing of 2500 copies remained. He also wrote that the paper ordered by the publisher (of which Olmsted was an investor) had "been a month on the way, not yet arrived." A second printing of this book in 1857 is not referenced in any of the bibliographies known to your cataloguer.
There are two variants of the book with 1857 on the title page. The most obvious difference is that one variant has plain endpapers and another has endpapers printed with reviews for the first volume in Olmstead's travels. I think it is most likely that the variant with ads is the second printing. On the title page of the copies with ad endpapers, the counters (empty spaces) in the capital 'A's of the list of Olmsted's previous books are mostly filled in, which is common when stereotype plates reproduce small letters (the publishing agreement for this book survives, and it required the publisher to make stereotype plates). The endpaper variant is also much more common, which would also seem to fit this narrative; given that the first printing sold out in weeks, the publisher is much more likely to have printed a larger number of the second printing, which apparently lasted until 1859, when the book was reprinted for a third time (a fourth printing appeared in 1860).
Edition + Condition: Likely first printing (with no ads on the endpapers). A very good copy, worn at the corners and bumped on the spine ends. Small, illegible previous owner's name on the front free endpaper; original price, $1.25, marked above in pencil. Rather scarce; copies with ads on the endpapers are much more common.
Item No: #365383
Price: $3,000