A Journey in the Back Country.
New York: Mason Brothers, 1860. First edition. 8vo. xvi, [11]-492 pp. With the half-title. Howes O-77. Sabin 57241. Clark Old South III, 481: "A record of Olmsted's observations made during a trip through Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and the back country of the Carolinas and Virginia. He passed through such towns as Woodville (Miss.), Natchez, Jackson, Vicksburg, Memphis, Tuscaloosa, Asheville, and Richmond. However, the value of the book lies in his description of rural life ... one of the outstanding features of the book is the author's attempt to compare and contrast the various social classes of the North and South. Although it is known that Olmsted privately acknowledged that there was a great deal of rowdyism and commonness among the northern farmers and laborers and no true aristocrats in the southern sense, still he avoided this in his writing and played up what he considered the higher general level of culture in the North as compared with the general backwardness of the South." Some age-toning to text, but very good. Late 20th-century green half-morocco and marbled boards, with new endpapers. (9463). Item #62688
Price: $250.00