Including the Earliest Map of San Francisco Bay Printed in America. "This is one of the most important books on the Gold Rush" - Streeter
Nice example of Revere's Tour of Duty in California, which records his experiences in the 1840s and was marketed at the height of interest in the Bay Area during the '49 Gold Rush.
The book is most noteworthy for its inclusion of Revere's map of San Francisco and the surrounding region. While based upon Beechey, Revere makes some significant revisions, especially in Suisun Bay, etc. This map is the first of San Francisco Bay to be published in the United States.
Frederick William Beechey's 1833 chart of San Francisco Bay was the result of the first scientific mapping of the Bay. Neil Harlow states that the chart had a wide influence upon later maps of the area. The chart, with copies and adaptations of it, served to the end of the Mexican period and formed the substantial basis of the earliest ones produced under the American regime. It was deficient only in the region beyond Carquinez Strait... Harlow notes the chart of the entrance contains "additional hydrographic data pertinent to entering the port and reaching the chief places of anchorage. Accompanying the chart are elevation views depicting the approaches to the bay and the hazards to navigation."
The Zamorano 80 notes that:
Lieutenant Revere was a graduate of Annapolis and a grandson of Paul Revere. His Tour of Duty is one of the outstanding authorities on the period of the Conquest, and his descriptions of California and the gold regions are of the best. The book contains valuable chapters on land law and land titles, as well as the complete report of Col. Mason on the gold fields.
Streeter says that "this is one of the most important books on the Gold Rush and figures on most selected lists."