The Geographical Catechism of Pennsylvania, and the Western States; Designed as a Guide and Pocket Companion, for Travellers and Emigrants, to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri, Containing a Geographical and Early Historical Account of These Several States, From Their First Settlement up to the Present Time.

Very scarce in publisher’s cloth; printed paper spine label

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First edition, reprinted the following year in Philadelphia. Scarce in embossed original cloth and original and attractive printed label reading: “The Traveller’s and Emigrant’s Guide to The West.” Some copies were issued with a map; this copy was not. Front flyleaf inscribed “Ann Quigley’s Book.”

Among many roles, Israel Daniel Rupp (1803–1878) was an itinerant bookseller, historian, translator, and schoolmaster in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, and Lancaster counties. When teaching did not suffice, he worked as a delegate to political conventions and political campaigner for John Quincy Adams. His most significant contribution, as this volume demonstrates, was to establish Pennsylvania local history as a respected and accessible field. “Though his books are written in a rough, homespun style, are sometimes poorly arranged, and are peppered with some of the most fantastic of typographical errors, they are generally accurate, show much acumen in separating fact from fancy, and preserve a vast quantity of information that would otherwise have been lost or left all but inaccessible in widely scattered archives.” (DAB)

Price: $150.00