Notable
volumes pertaining to the Lewis and Clark expedition are also among the
Library’s holdings. History of the Expedition Under the Command of
Captains Lewis and Clark by Nicholas Biddle (1814), in two volumes,
is the first authentic published history of the expedition. Travels
in the Interior Parts of America (1807) is the first British
publication of the message from President Thomas Jefferson to
from Lewis's History of the
Expedition
the U.S.
Congress, detailing discoveries made by Lewis and Clark in exploring
the Missouri, Red River and Washita. This collection also features
a 15-volume History of the Expedition printed from the original
manuscripts in a limited edition of 200 copies on hand-made
paper (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1905), the first complete publication of
the journals of Lewis and Clark.
from Lewis's History of the
Expedition
Special Collections also offers numerous books documenting the exploration
of the American West, many in first editions. Of particular note are the
first three volumes of Historical and Statistical Information Respecting
the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United
States by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1851-1857), containing especially
fine plates and maps. Another influential reference work is the six-volume
Mapping the Transmississippi West, 1540-1861 by Carl Wheat. The
Library’s set was published by the Institute of Historical Cartography
between 1957 and 1963, and is one of a limited-edition printing of 1,000.