Account of a Tour of the California Missions, 1856: The Journals & Drawings of Henry Miller

San Francisco: Book Club of California, 1952. First Edition. 59pp. Quarto [28 cm] 1/4 vellum over decorative boards. Better than very good. This Grabhorn printed edition was limited to 375 copies. Prospectus laid in. This work gives a graphic day-by-day account of Miller's travels through California in 1856 during which he made a series of pencil sketches of the Missions that are not only among the earliest in point of time but among the most detailed and artistically successful ever drawn. Among the nineteen Missions depicted, ranging from San Diego to San Francisco, are a number that reveal information previously unknown concerning placement of the (truncated) buildings and details of design. Others are among the earliest views now extant and in one case - that of Soledad - probably the only authentic picture ever made. (Inventory #: 10314)