Private Collection

The volume was acquired at a Sun City, Arizona, estate sale in 1985 and later passed by family descent to the present private collection. The estate’s identity and all ownership before 1985 remain…

RepositoryPrivate Collection

BindingOriginal cream publisher-issued boards with black decoration.

Presentation / AssociationNo presentation inscription or ownership mark has been identified in the photographs or initial physical examination.

Provenance Chain

Unrecorded earlier ownership → estate sale, Sun City, Arizona, 1985 → family descent → Private Collection

Provenance Narrative

The volume was acquired at a Sun City, Arizona, estate sale in 1985 and later passed by family descent to the present private collection. The estate’s identity and all ownership before 1985 remain unresolved.

Mounted Reviews and Humboldt Material

Mounted contemporary newspaper reviews and the Humboldt letter facsimile survive on maroon endpapers. One review states a four-hundred-copy edition. Its text matches the Philadelphia Gazette review reprinted in the Daily National Intelligencer, April 29, 1859, p. 2. The physical clipping probably comes from the Philadelphia printing; its missing masthead prevents confirmation.

Why This Copy Matters

The original spine substantially survives; ownership before the family’s 1985 acquisition is unrecorded.

Sources and Documentation

Current-owner acquisition, physical examination, and copy-specific photographs.