Lot 65: PREUSS, CHARLES. 1803-1854, AND FREMONT, JOHN C. 1813-1890. Topographical Map of the Road from Missouri to Oregon Commencing at the Mouth of the Kansas in the Missouri River and Ending at the Mouth of the Wallah Wallah in the Columbia. In VII

PREUSS, CHARLES. 1803-1854, AND FREMONT, JOHN C. 1813-1890.
Topographical Map of the Road from Missouri to Oregon Commencing at the Mouth of the Kansas in the Missouri River and Ending at the Mouth of the Wallah Wallah in the Columbia. In VII Sections. From the field notes and journals of Capt. J.C. Fremont, and from sketches and notes made on the ground by his assistant Charles Preuss. Baltimore: E. Weber, 1846.
Seven lithographed maps, each 675 x 400 mm, bound together at right by paper hinge. Light foxing, the final map (VII) worst-affected, resulting in staining and a small tear at fold.

FIRST EDITION of this set of seven maps, producing a total length of 15 ft. Each represents a section of the Oregon Trail and features lengthy legends describing the group's progress, discoveries, and notes on the terrain. Fremont, dubbed "The Pathfinder," led four expeditions West during the 1840s. He was highly enthusiastic about the prospects of settling these new territories, and the present maps, chronicling his first expedition in 1842, were likely intended for migrants. "[Fremont's] report and the Fremont (Preuss) map which accompanied it, changed the entire picture of the West, and made a lasting contribution to cartography" (Cowan, pp 223-4). Graff 3360; Streeter Sale 3100; Wagner-Camp 115n; Wheat Transmississippi 523.