Westward Journeys; The Memoirs of Jesse A. Applegate and Lavinia Honeyman Porter Who Traveled the Overland Trail

Chicago: Lakeside Press, 1989. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. One of the highly collectible Lakeside Press editions. This handsome, well-made volume has an interesting backstory. Lakeside Press, founded in 1864, has long prided itself on producing high quality publications. Earlier in its history, Lakeside was a publisher of the Encyclopedia Brittanica, the Sears catalog, Time, and Life. Lakeside Classics, of which this volume is one, is a series begun in 1903 to reprint neglected classics, particularly those based on American history. By 2015, there were 113 volumes. The most interesting fact about Lakeside Classics is that they were never sold! The current year's volume was/is given to employees and friends of the publishing house each year at Christmas. Due to their quality and their origin, Lakeside Classics are collectible. This work is #87 in the series, and includes two memoirs of westward expansion: the first is by Applegate, an American pioneer who led a large group of settlers to Oregon (and established an alternate route) and later became an influential member of Oregon's early government; the second memoir by Porter describes her and her husband's two thousand mile journey from Missouri to California; neither of them had any relevant experience to prepare them for such a trek, and she was pregnant with their second child. Quite the treatise on American perseverance.

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Lakeside Press, founded in 1864, has long prided itself on producing high quality publications. Lakeside Classics, of which this volume is #87, is a series begun in 1903 to reprint neglected classics, particularly those based on American history. By 2015, there were 113 volumes. However, the books were never intended to be sold on the open market, but instead to be given to employees and clients as Christmas gifts. Due to their quality and their origin, Lakeside Classics are collectible. This work includes two memoirs of westward expansion. The first is by Jesse A. Applegate, an American pioneer who led a large group of settlers to Oregon (and established an alternate route) and later became an influential member of Oregon's early government. The second memoir, by Lavinia Honeyman Porter, describes her and her husband's two thousand mile journey from Missouri to California; neither of them had any relevant experience to prepare them for such a trek, and she was pregnant with their second child. The book is edited by Martin Ridge. Collector or gift quality. This attractive volume is pristine. The gold embossing is perfect. Interesting, nicely done illustrations are from historical sources. See photographs. No ISBN. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 91207634.