David Spilman Fine Books

Commerce of the Prairies or Journal of a Santa Fé Trader; During Eight Expeditions across the Great Western Prairies, and A Residence of Nearly Nine Years in Northern Mexico [In Two Volumes]

Gregg, Josiah

New York: J. and H. G. Langley, 1845. Good. Second Edition. [7.5x5in], Vol I - xvi, [1], 323 pp., frontispiece, two plates and several in text illustrations, lacking folding map, glossary; Vol II - viii, 327 pp., lacking frontispiece, one map of the interior of Northern Mexico, two plates and several in text illustrations, index; Publisher dark brown cloth covers with gilt lettering on spine, embossed design in borders on front and rear covers, all edges trimmed; Much shelf wear to covers, spine, edges and corners, edges and corners worn through, repaired bumped and frayed corners, Vol. I parts of spine and joint cloth missing, Vol II top and bottom of spine frayed or missing, age-toning and medium foxing throughout. [Wagner-Camp 108:5. Reese, Best of the West 83. Rittenhouse 255. Graff 1662, Howes G-401, Eberstadt 103:114]. Item #14416

Josiah Gregg (1806-1850) was an American merchant, explorer, naturalist and author. Gregg started as a Sante Fe trader in 1834 as a wagon master making the trips from Missouri to Santa Fe. Later, he began exploring the different routes to Sante Fe and learning more about the people and the geography.

Commerce of the Prairies, was first published in two volumes in 1844. The book was in great demand, and a second printing with added information was published in 1845. This is an account of his time spent as a trader on the Santa Fe Trail from 1831 to 1839 and includes commentary on the geography, botany, geology, and culture of New Mexico. Gregg wrote about local people and described Indian culture and artifacts. The book established Gregg's literary reputation. It went through several editions, sold a large number in England, and was translated into French and German. The map he produced of the Santa Fe Trail and surrounding plains was the most detailed up to that time, and his suggestions of where the Red River headwaters might be found inspired the journey of Randolph B. Marcy and George B. McClellan in 1852.

From Reese, Best of the West, "One of the landmark books of Western Americana, acclaimed by all sources as the principal contemporary authority on the Santa Fe Trail and Trade, the Indians of the south Plains, and New Mexico in the Mexican period...". From Rittenhouse, The work stands as a cornerstone of all studies on the Santa Fe Trail in the early period, describing the origin and development of the trade, Gregg's own experiences, and useful statistics for 1822-43."

The bookplate of Alexander Ramsey Thomas (1883–1946) dates from the early 1900s. Thomas was an avid and long-standing book collector, continuing the bibliophilic tradition of his father, Arthur Lloyd Thomas (1851–1924) the 14th Territorial Governor of Utah from 1889 to 1893 and assembled a collection focused on western expansion, exploration, and the study of human development and civilization. Alexander Ramsey Thomas became an attorney and relocated to Mendocino County, California in 1913 to establish his law practice, later serving as an officer of the courts.

Price: $390.00