compiled g k woods (2 risultati)

Hardcover. Condizione: Very Good. First edition. 163pp. Octavo [21.5 cm] Bound in red cloth, with decorative gilt stamping on front board. Rubbing and light soiling to boards and edges, including gilt stamping. Several small scratches to rear board. Spine a bit faded. Textblock mildly toned. Captain John Hance was the original Grand Canyon tour guide, and the area's first non-Indigenous resident. Though famed for his storytelling prowess (he was once affectionately called "the greatest liar on Earth" by then president Theodore Roosevelt), not much is known about the man himself. No personal writings of Hance remain, and the recollections of early Grand Canyon tourists largely form his legacy. Compiling ten years of Hance's private visitors' book, this title is both a glimpse into the daily life of a somewhat enigmatic figure in Western history, and a record of the awe felt by early tourists when viewing the Grand Canyon for the first time. Illustrated with images of surrounding scenery, and the Hance camp and trail. Scarce.

First Edition. 8vo. 163 pp. Frontispiece with tissue guard; 26 photographic plates. Gilt illustration on front cover by "Boeringer". Maroon cloth with gilt lettering. A very good copy (gilting a bit rubbed; light wear to extremities; short puncture along front joint); internally clean. As Seen Through Nearly Two Thousand Eyes, and Written in the Private Visitors' Book of the World Famous Guide Capt. John Hance Guide, Story-teller, and Pathfinder. John Hance (1837 - 1919) is thought to be the first non-Native American resident of the Grand Canyon, US. He opened the first tourist trail, today known as Old Hance Trail, into Grand Canyon in 1884, well before his mining activities began. However, Hance found his true calling, and a more lucrative one, with guiding and providing lodging to visitors coming to the canyon to see if the stories of western explorers like Major John Wesley Powell were true. His legend became such that some began to say "To see the canyon only and not to see Captain John Hance, is to miss half the show," and the prestige of the old guide was such that when President Theodore Roosevelt came to Grand Canyon in 1903, it was John Hance who led him down the trail. He also served as the first postmaster for Grand Canyon and opened the first post office on the South Rim.