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Description

One of the earliest obtainable maps of the Yosemite Valley, offered here in the revised third state, with new additions.

The map was produced as part of Whitney's California Survey. In 1864 the governor of California accepted Yosemite as land to be owned by the State. King, Gardner and Cotter were ordered immediately to complete a survey of Yosemite before the onset of winter. Despite unusually bad weather, the group produced a superb early map of the Valley. Locates the Merced River, Virgin Tears, Yosemite Falls, Sentinel Rock and Dome, Bridal Veil Falls and Creek, Mariposa Trail and much more. The first two hotels appear on the valley floor. Topographical detail via hachure.

The following is excerpted from a description provided by Yosemite expert, James Snyder.

This example is from the third printing and was removed from J. D. Whitney's Yosemite Guide-Book (1870) . . .
Despited the map date, first printing was not in 1865. The survey of Yosemite Valley by King and Gardner was paid for by Frederick Law Olmsted in the hopes of later reimbursement from the State. There was some urgency to the mapping survey because winter was imminent. King concentrated on the cliffs and sketched the floor of Yosemite Valley very roughly, almost as an afterthought.
In 1867, Charles F. Hoffmann was sent to map the valley floor with particular reference to private claims and developments there. In comparing his map with King and Gardner's earlier map, he discovered that the two maps did not correspond. It was too late to make corrections for the guidebook editions of 1868 and 1869. Whitney declared King's work "a complete sham" and was determined to correct it for the next edition of the guidebook.
While the Yosemite Valley map was drawn in 1865 by Gardner, it was not published in any form, so far as Mr. Snyder was able to discover, until 1868 in the Geological Survey of California, J. D. Whitney, The Yosemite Book (New York: Julius Bien, 1868) (Farquhar 7a). In addition to Watkins' and Harris' photographs of the Yosemite Valley and region, this publication had two folding maps attached to the endsheets at the back of the volume. One was a map of the high Sierra adjacent to Yosemite Valley and surveyed 1863-1867 by Hoffmann and Gardner. The second was the map of Yosemite Valley, printed in this first edition with a green overprint for the meadows.
The Yosemite Guide-Book published in 1868 (Farquhar 7b), had woodcuts instead of photographs. In pockets in both the front and back boards were the maps of Yosemite Valley and the high Sierra. The map of Yosemite Valley was unchanged from the first printing, except that there was no green overprint. The second edition of the Yosemite Guide-Book was published in 1870 (Farquhar 7c). Again pockets in both the front and back boards contained the maps of Yosemite Valley and the high Sierra. The map of Yosemite Valley in this edition is the version corrected from Hoffmann's mapping of the valley in 1867. The river is shown correctly, along with the Yosemite Creek fan below the falls. Buildings, roads, and orchards have also been added.
There were no further editions of this map with the Guide-Book. A full size, revised and updated version of the Yosemite Valley map was apparently issued about 1874 on heavy paper. This version was never issued with a publication, though sections of it were no doubt used for smaller, pocket-sized versions. Hoffmann's manuscript map of Yosemite Valley and the 1870 corrected version from it are reproduced digitally in the Octavo (Octavo.com) version of Whitney's The Yosemite Book (1868; 2003) along with the original 1868 version.

Offered here the guide book, with 155 pp. 8 plates, many illustrations within text, 1 (of 2) folding maps, unbound signatures, unsewn, uncut and untrimmed. First Edition, This copy was never sewn, trimmed, or bound.

Condition Description
Offered here the guide book, with 155 pp. 8 plates, many illustrations within text, 1 (of 2) folding maps, unbound signatures, unsewn, uncut and untrimmed. First Edition, This copy was never sewn, trimmed, or bound.
Julius Bien Biography

Julius Bien (1826-1909) was a German-born American lithographer and cartographer, renowned for his significant contributions to American cartography during the 19th century. Born on September 27, 1826, in Naumburg, Germany, Bien originally trained in his homeland, mastering the nascent craft of chromolithography, a method for producing multi-color prints.

In the 1850s, Bien emigrated to the United States, where he set up his own lithography firm, Julius Bien & Co., in New York. His innovative techniques and meticulous attention to detail quickly earned him a reputation as one of the country's leading lithographers. The firm became known for its wide range of work, from maps and atlases to commercial prints and illustrations.

One of Bien's most significant collaborations was with the U.S. government, particularly the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). In the late 19th century, the USGS undertook the ambitious project of mapping the entire United States. Bien's firm was responsible for producing many of these topographical maps, and he introduced advanced printing techniques that enhanced their clarity, precision, and detail.

However, not all of Bien's ventures were successful. His attempt at reproducing a double elephant folio edition of Audubon's Birds of America in the 1860s, for instance, was left incomplete due to financial challenges posed by the Civil War. Despite this, many of the plates he did produce for this edition are considered masterpieces of chromolithography.

Julius Bien passed away on December 21, 1909, in New York. His contributions to lithography and cartography in the U.S. left a lasting legacy, with many of his techniques becoming standard practice in the field. His maps, in particular, serve as a testament to the evolving understanding and depiction of the American landscape during a period of rapid westward expansion and scientific exploration.