CALIFORNIA: A History of Upper and Lower California, with an Introduction by Herbert Ingram Priestley

San Francisco: John Henry Nash, 1937. Hardcover. Very good. Limited to 650 copies. "British merchant Alexander Forbes wrote the first book published in English relating exclusively to California. His narrative, as observed by Hubert Howe Bancroft, was not so much a history as 'a presentation by an intelligent man of business of the country's actual condition, capabilities, institutions, and prospects.' His book, more than any other, made California known to the English-speaking world and spurred on both European and American interest in controlling this remote Mexican province" (Gary F. Kurutz, The Zamorano 80 Collection of Daniel G. Volkmann Jr.). Small quarto: xxxi, 229 p. with 11 illustrations, including a folding map of California, and 2 facsimiles. Original marbled paper-covered boards over a brown cloth spine, with a printed paper spine label. Minor crease to the folding map, with a little bit of edgewear to the boards; else very good or better. The Zamorano Eighty 38.