Description
First edition of Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Theodore Roosevelt, in the publisher’s first state dust jacket.
Octavo, xiv, [2], 383pp. Light brown cloth, title in gilt on spine and front cover. First edition with “Scribner’s Seal” on the copyright page. Top edge gilt, uncut outer edges. Light soiling to covers and spine, rubbing to lower edge of front board. Complete with 85 electrotyped halftone photographs on 49 plates, three maps, one of which folds out. In the publisher’s first state dust jacket, $3.50 NET retail price on spine, some loss at heel of spine, solid hinges and free of restoration. An exceptionally rare jacket, in any condition. (Cole & Vail, A41a)
This first edition consisted of 7,500 copies at a price of $3.50. It chronicles Roosevelt’s journey to Brazil with his son Kermit. During the trip, Roosevelt nearly died when he contracted malaria and developed a serious infection due to a leg wound. The lingering effects of his illness likely contributed to his death in 1919. There was no second printing of this book. It was reissued in 1919 and appears almost identical to the first edition, except for the gilt top edge.