CALIFORNIA AS AN ISLAND: An Illustrated Essay by John Leighly, Professor Emeritus, University of California at Berkeley, with Twenty-five Plates & a Bibliographical Checklist of Maps showing California as an Island, 1622-1785

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1972. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Limited to 450 copies printed at the Press of Robert Grabhorn & Andrew Hoyem, with the prospecus laid in. "The misconception that California was an island persisted until early in the eighteenth century, and at least 170 maps, in numerous editions, record this error. Professor Leighly’s essay is an important contribution to the history of cartography of the West Coast of North America and of the early exploration and navigation of the Pacific Slope." Includes a map on the title page in color, twenty-five map plates (twenty double spreads and one double folding out), and twelve facsimile reproductions throughout text. Text for plates, bibliographical checklist, and index by Judith Hoyem. Quarto: 154, [1] pp. Bound in tan decorated boards (color facsimile of map on the front cover), with brown morocco leather back, titled in gold. Near fine. (Inventory #: 77923)