Our National Parks.

"I have done the best I could to show forth the beauty, grandeur, and all-embracing usefulness of our wild mountain forest reservations": Scarce first edition of Our National Parks; inscribed by John Muir

Our National Parks.

MUIR, John.

Item Number: 110389

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1901.

First edition of Muir’s collection of short works on the beauty and splendor of America’s National Parks. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, gilt vignette to the front panel, top edge gilt, tissue-guarded frontispiece engraving of the sequoias of Mariposa Grove. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Thomas Price with sincere regard and many pleasant Klamath memories – John Muir. Martinez California September 1908.” The recipient, Thomas Price, was the stenographer hired to accompany Muir on his journey to Pelican Bay Lodge on Lake Klamath in Southern Oregon in 1908. He transcribed Muir’s musings and thoughts on the landscape which would later form part of his 1912 autobiography My Boyhood and Youth. In near fine condition. An exceptional example and association, rare signed and inscribed by Muir.

John Muir was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States. His activism has helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and many other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is a prominent American conservation organization. The 211-mile John Muir Trail, a hiking trail in the Sierra Nevada, was named in his honor. Other such places include Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier. In Scotland, the John Muir Way, a 130-mile-long route, was named in honor of him. In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite National Park. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings has inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. Today Muir is referred to as the "Father of the National Parks." A series of sketches first published in the Atlantic Monthly, Muir's Our National Parks includes Muir's reminiscences of Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and General Grant National Park.

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