The Yosemite

New York: The Century Co, 1912. First Edition, 1st Printing. Near Fine. [April 1912, MCMXII on title page] [8.25x5.75in]; x, 284 pp., 32 plate images including frontispiece of Yosemite Fall, 2 large folding and 1 fold out maps, appendices and index; Dark green cloth covers with gilt lettering and Sequoia tree color illustration on spine, gilt and color illustration of Mirror Lake and Mt. Watkins with dark lettering on front, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed; Minimal shelf wear to covers edges and corners, light rubbing to gilt on front, joints and top and bottom of spine, frontispiece tissue guard missing, light shadow offsets on end papers, spine darken. [Kimes 308, BAL 14767, Zamorano Select #77, Howell 50 #659, Neate M171] MW. John Muir (1838-1914) was a well-known naturalist, preservationist, author, advocate, and founder of the Sierra Club. His writings were poetic in the beauty of nature and compelling in preserving for the enjoyment of future generations. In the 1890's, the exploitation of the West's resources and use of Federal lands was a concern for conservationists (currently called environmentalist). Muir's many articles, and this book, had a significant impact on the public and policy makers to expand protection, conservation, and preservation of forests and public lands. Along with Muir's second book, Our National Parks, 1901, his efforts to influence Presidents and generate public support have created National park system the United States and other countries have today.

The greatest challenge was his advocacy Congress to establish Yosemite as a National Park in 1890, however, unlike Yellowstone, under California State control. Over the next decade, Muir founded the Sierra Club to promote environmental protection to wilderness areas, authored several books on his travels and developed influence with government and business leaders. In 1903, on a trip to Yosemite with President Theodore Roosevelt, he described the State's mismanagement and exploitation of the National Park and pressed for Federal control. In 1905 Yosemite was expanded and placed under the control of the Department of Interior.

This book was urged by Robert Underwood Johnson, a friend and editor of the Century Publishing company, as a guidebook of Yosemite. Muir said that it should have been written years earlier and maybe the "little Yosemite Valley" of Hetch Hetchy would have been saved from destruction. In 1906, San Francisco suffered a devastating earthquake and subsequent fire storm that destroyed most of the city due, in a large part, to the failure of the city water system. A project was developed to build a reservoir in the Sierra Mountains to insure a future water supply. The Tuolumne River, running through the Hetch Hetchy Valley, was selected to be dammed. Muir, in his early seventies, promoted this book, wrote articles and led the debates against this environmentally damaging project. However, this effort failed and President Wilson signed the legislation transferring the land to San Francisco to build the dam in December 1913. Earlier, Muir acknowledged this defeat and said. "I'll be relieved when it is settled, for it is killing me. No matter, for I've had a grand life in these divine mountains." On December 24,1914, Muir died and left a wonderful legacy of the Sierra Mountains and Yosemite. [in part from Kimes and Zamorano Select].

Several of the book chapters contain writings from earlier periodical articles and book publications of Muir. As a guidebook, it was appropriate to pull from earlier writings to best describe Yosemite and provide the tourists information to make their trip educational and enjoyable. The book included arguments to save Hetch Hetchy, and was published during the heated debates to dam Hetch Hetchy to the north of Yosemite to provide water to San Francisco.