Carl I[rving] Wheat; MAPPING | the Transmississippi | WEST

Wheat, Carl I[rving] (1892/12/05-1966/06/23); 1540-1861 | MAPPING | the Transmississippi | WEST | By Carl I Wheat | Volume [One/Two… Five, Part II] [[Separate description of contenet for each volume]] [flourish] San Francisco | The Institute of Historical Cartography [1957/…/1963], first edition, 5 volumes bound as 6, xiii, 264; xiii, 281; xiii, 349; xiii, 260; xviii, 222; 223-487 pp., folio 37 x 27 cm. The work discusses 1,302 maps of which 374 are reproduced., limited to 1,000 copies designed by Edwin and Robert Grabhorn. [Grabhorn Bibliography 590, Volume I only], The first volume was printed by the Grabhorn Press, the rest by Taylor & Taylor & James,

Considered by many to be the finest publication of a cartographic and bibliographic work. Printed on high quality deckle-edge paper. The set is beautifully bound in 2-color buckram with gilt lettering on the spines. This beautifully printed account of the mapping of America’s Transmississippi West traces the story of American cartography and exploration, beginning with the Spanish Entrada in 1540 through the government surveys to the Geological Survey. Wheat traces the paths of the Spanish, French and English explorers and analyzes the resulting growth of knowledge through the succession of their maps. This series is an essential tool for any serious collector or scholar of Western Americana. It is unlikely to be superseded.  (The reprint edition lacks the large folding map reproductions and the beautiful production qualities of the original.)

Additional copies for sale: Fine. Original plain brown paper dust jackets present. To accompany this set the following book is included: Charles A. Seavey, Mapping the Transmississippi West, 1540-1861: An Index to the Cartobibliography, Winnetka, Illinois, Speculum Orbis Press, 1992, vii, 210 pp., octavo 23 x 15 cm., new, bound in blue cloth.   $3,500.

I shall refer to this set as MTW and Wagner-Camp-Becker as WCB.