1900 George Wharton James In & Around Grand Canyon Pasadena Ed. Grabau Binding
For your consideration is a magnificent and scarce collector's treasure: "In and Around the Grand Canyon" by George Wharton James, published in Boston by Little, Brown, and Company in 1900.
This copy is Number 455 of the rare Pasadena Edition, strictly limited to 500 hand-numbered and signed copies. To make this specimen truly one-of-a-kind, it is bound in a deluxe full-leather binding featuring 5 raised bands (ribs), decorative gilt tooling, and bears the blind-stamped binder's mark of Grabau on the inner turn-in.
Inscriptions & Signatures:
Limitation Page: Hand-numbered No. 455 and personally signed by author George Wharton James.
Authorial Inscription:
Features a handwritten thematic passage on the preceding page penned in James's hand:
"God's wonderful works should ever arouse our hearts to deepest gratitude. Yours cordially, George Wharton James"
Later Provenance & Association:
Includes a warm family gift inscription on the front flyleaf dated Thanksgiving 1945 ("In grateful appreciation to Joe & Dorothy Albrecht, from Dad and Mother Grabau"). This inscription carries a remarkable historical provenance: "Dad and Mother Grabau" are none other than renowned master bookbinder John F. Grabau and his wife Minna, gifting the volume to their daughter Dorothy and her husband, Buffalo attorney and art patron Joseph Anton Albrecht.
About the Book & Author:
Written by naturalist, explorer, and writer George Wharton James (1858–1923), In and Around the Grand Canyon is widely considered a masterwork of early American Southwest literature. James spent years living among the indigenous peoples of Arizona and California, exploring the inner trails of the Canyon when tourism was in its absolute infancy. The volume is richly illustrated with breathtaking period photographs, descriptive narratives of early trail descents, and a detailed folding map/plate, capturing the raw, spiritual grandeur of the landscape before modern development.
Condition Report:
Binding: The full leather exterior shows light rubbing along the board edges and moderate-to-heavy wear along the spine structure. Due to the substantial textblock weight, the front inner hinge has started to crack slightly at the bookplate/endpaper joint, though the binding remains structurally stable overall. All exterior details are clearly captured in the listing photos.
Textblock & Pages: Exceptionally clean. There are no markings, underlinings, or highlights throughout the interior pages. All original photographic plates, half-titles, and the fold-out photo are fully present and accounted for.
Additional condition photos, scans, or video are happily available upon request.
For your consideration is a magnificent and scarce collector's treasure: "In and Around the Grand Canyon" by George Wharton James, published in Boston by Little, Brown, and Company in 1900.
This copy is Number 455 of the rare Pasadena Edition, strictly limited to 500 hand-numbered and signed copies. To make this specimen truly one-of-a-kind, it is bound in a deluxe full-leather binding featuring 5 raised bands (ribs), decorative gilt tooling, and bears the blind-stamped binder's mark of Grabau on the inner turn-in.
Inscriptions & Signatures:
Limitation Page: Hand-numbered No. 455 and personally signed by author George Wharton James.
Authorial Inscription:
Features a handwritten thematic passage on the preceding page penned in James's hand:
"God's wonderful works should ever arouse our hearts to deepest gratitude. Yours cordially, George Wharton James"
Later Provenance & Association:
Includes a warm family gift inscription on the front flyleaf dated Thanksgiving 1945 ("In grateful appreciation to Joe & Dorothy Albrecht, from Dad and Mother Grabau"). This inscription carries a remarkable historical provenance: "Dad and Mother Grabau" are none other than renowned master bookbinder John F. Grabau and his wife Minna, gifting the volume to their daughter Dorothy and her husband, Buffalo attorney and art patron Joseph Anton Albrecht.
About the Book & Author:
Written by naturalist, explorer, and writer George Wharton James (1858–1923), In and Around the Grand Canyon is widely considered a masterwork of early American Southwest literature. James spent years living among the indigenous peoples of Arizona and California, exploring the inner trails of the Canyon when tourism was in its absolute infancy. The volume is richly illustrated with breathtaking period photographs, descriptive narratives of early trail descents, and a detailed folding map/plate, capturing the raw, spiritual grandeur of the landscape before modern development.
Condition Report:
Binding: The full leather exterior shows light rubbing along the board edges and moderate-to-heavy wear along the spine structure. Due to the substantial textblock weight, the front inner hinge has started to crack slightly at the bookplate/endpaper joint, though the binding remains structurally stable overall. All exterior details are clearly captured in the listing photos.
Textblock & Pages: Exceptionally clean. There are no markings, underlinings, or highlights throughout the interior pages. All original photographic plates, half-titles, and the fold-out photo are fully present and accounted for.
Additional condition photos, scans, or video are happily available upon request.
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