Landmark Books in All Fields
ItemID: #114808
Cost: $2,200.00

John Colter, Discoverer of Yellowstone Park

Stallo Vinton

SIGNED LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF VINTON'S BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN COLTER, DISCOVERER OF YELLOWSTONE, ONE OF ONLY 30 LARGE-PAPER COPIES SIGNED BY AUTHOR STALLO VINTON

VINTON, Stallo. John Colter, Discoverer of Yellowstone Park; An Account of His Exploration in 1807 and of His Further Adventures as Hunter; Trapper; Indian Fighter; Pathfinder and Member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. New York: Edward Eberstadt, 1926. Octavo, original half gilt-stamped vellum, uncut and unopened. $2200.

Signed limited first edition, number 11 of only 30 copies signed by Stallo Vinton and printed on large paper, with a reproduction of the 1814 map, a rare uncut and unopened copy.

A fur trapper by trade, Colter was the "first to behold the marvels of the Yellowstone and the first to tell them to the world." Though he originally accompanied Lewis and Clark, Colter moved on to a fur-trading post set up by St. Louis fur trader Manuel Lisa. It was there that Colter came to know Yellowstone. The post was located at Fort Raymond "on the Yellowstone, at the mouth of the Big Horn River. This location (in present-day south-central Montana) lay within the traditional territory of the Crow Indians, a fact that probably angered the Crows' traditional enemies, the Blackfoot Indians. From there Colter set out in November 1807… to visit the Crows in their villages along the upper Yellowstone and encourage them to come trade at Lisa's post. During this winter trek, Colter explored much of present-day northwestern Wyoming… The only direct testament to Colter's 1807-1808 route is William Clark's 1810 manuscript map… Clark's cartographic effort… shows a dashed line marked "Colter's Route," but much of that route is contradicted by the region's actual geography. Historians agree that during his epic winter journey Colter became the first Euro-American to explore portions of present-day Yellowstone National Park" (ANB). Howes V114. Soliday I:617. Graff 4490.

Interior fine, light wear and soiling to binding. A rare signed copy in exceptionally good condition.

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