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Item 41. The superb James Semple–Jennie Crocker Henderson–Warren R. Howell
copy of Hastings’exceedingly rare Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California,
in original printed wrappers—“the first California guide book” (Howes) and
“the most controversial and fought-over guidebook associated with California
and the American West” (Kurutz).
41. HASTINGS, Lansford
W[arren] (1819-1870). The Emigrants’ Guide, to Oregon and
California, Containing Scenes and Incidents of a Party of Oregon Emigrants;
a Description of Oregon; Scenes and Incidents of a Party of California
Emigrants; and a Description of California; with a Description of the
Different Routes to Those Countries; and All Necessary Information
Relative to the Equipment, Supplies, and the Method of Traveling. By
[the] Leader of the Oregon and California Emigrants of 1842.
Cincinnati: Published by George Conclin, Stereotyped by Shepard & Co.,
1845. 152 pp. 8vo, original brown printed wrappers, title within typographical
ornamental border (original upper wrapper obtained by Warren R. Howell
from the Mizner family, descendants of General James Semple, brother
of Robert Semple, who traveled to California with the Hastings party
[see Hart, Companion to California, p. 397]; ownership inscription
of James Semple in pencil on upper wrapper, and printed date of 1845
on wrapper erased; note of authentication regarding the wrappers signed
by Warren R. Howell). Slight wear to wrappers and an occasional trace
of foxing, else very fine, and so described by John Howell–Books in
their California Catalogue (50:112). Contemporary signature of George
Ayres (or possibly Myres) on title, dated “Aug. 19, ’45.” Preserved
in a full crimson morocco fleece-lined folding box. Another book from the
Daniel G. Volkmann collection with splendid provenance: the James
Semple–Jennie Crocker Henderson–Warren R. Howell copy. This book is
a true rarity of Western Americana and Californiana, difficult to
find in any condition (the 1953 Godchaux census located only 10 copies). First edition of “the first California guide book” (Howes). American Imprints 45:3040. Bradford 2153. Cowan I, p. 105: “One of the earliest works on the overland route.” Cowan II, p. 270. Doheny Sale 230. Graff 1815: “The earliest important guide.” Hill, p. 442n. Holliday 492. Howell 50, California 112 (illustrated, p. 61): “Rare and celebrated.” Howes H288 (“superlatively rare”). Huntington Library, Zamorano 80...Exhibition of Famous and Notorious California Classics 41. Jones 1105 & vol. 2, p. 233 (title illustrated). Libros Californianos (Wagner list), p. 25. Mintz, The Trail 215. Plains & Rockies IV:116:1. Smith 4148. Streeter Sale 3142: “One of the first and most famous of the ‘overlands’ to the Pacific.—TWS.” Tweney, The Washington 89 #27 (illustrated at p. 25): “One of the most famous—and at the same time, controversial—overland guides to the Pacific Coast.” Zamorano 80 #41. For post–Gold Rush editions of Hastings’s Emigrants’ Guide, see Kurutz, The California Gold Rush 320. ($50,000-100,000) |
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The Emigrants’ Guide, because of the disaster suffered by
the Donner-Reed party in 1846, is the most controversial and fought-over
guidebook associated with California and the American West. Historians
of the Donner tragedy have routinely condemned Hastings for suggesting
the harsh desert route that delayed the ill-fated emigrants. California
history’s giant, Hubert Howe Bancroft, pronounced the guidebook as
“worthless” and the great Bernard DeVoto opined that Hastings was a
“smart young man who wrote a book without knowing what he was talking
about.” Other publications, including the latest edition of The
Plains & the Rockies, have softened the criticism of this agent
of Manifest Destiny concluding that “Historical hindsight has dealt
harshly with Hastings, particularly for having promoted an unknown
cutoff south of Salt Lake.” Western guidebook historian Thomas F. Andrews
reevaluated Hastings and recognized the worth of his book in providing
practical advice on outfitting a trip to California. More recently,
overland historian Will Bagley, after a thorough analysis of the author
and his motives, concluded that the record will “reveal a man whose
ruthless ambition blinded him to reality. Lansford W. Hastings was
a scoundrel.” Bagley went on to write, “The Emigrants’ Guide
contained useful information about preparing for an overland crossing,
but as a trail guide, it was a disaster. The book was flawed by misinformation.” ——Gary F. Kurutz Additional sources consulted: Thomas F. Andrews, “The Controversial Hastings Overland Guide: A Reassessment,” Pacific Historical Review 37:1 (February 1968), pp. 21-34; Will Bagley, “Lansford Warren Hastings: Scoundrel or Visionary?” Overland Journal 12:1 (1994), pp. 12-26. |