John Muir’s "Steep Trails"

Among this month's newest acquisitions is a very collectible, large paper edition of John Muir's Steep Trails, published by Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston and New York in 1918. This example is numbered 8 of only 380 large paper copies issued, of which just 350 were offered for sale. The volume is illustrated with twelve plates, including a hand-colored frontispiece of Mount Shasta, and remains bound in its original sage green boards with a black leather spine label lettered in gilt.

Published four years after Muir's death, Steep Trails was assembled and edited by his literary executor, William Frederic Bade. The volume gathers nearly three decades of Muir's writings, spanning the years 1873 to 1902. It is a fascinating compilation of private letters to friends and articles that first appeared in publications of limited and local circulation. Together they form an extensive record of Muir’s travel and exploration across the American West. As readers, we accompany him as he sails through the Puget Sound, interviews the last miner in a Nevada ghost town, climbs the steep peaks of Mount Shasta and Rainer, and wonders at the miracle of the Grand Canon. 

Upon its publication, the New York Times observed, “to read this book is like going on a joyous holiday through the most picturesque parts of America with a man to whom nature is as close and vivid a presence as it is to a great poet… To him the hills and rocks are almost sentient- as they were to the lovable and radiant saint whose brothers the sun and the wind were. It is this pervading feeling that tints and warms the clarity of these bright pages.” (New York Times, December 22, 1918.)

Born in Scotland and later emigrating to the United States, John Muir became one of the nation's most influential naturalists, writers, and advocates for wilderness preservation. He played a central role in the establishment and protection of some of the nation's most celebrated landscapes, including Yosemite, Sequoia, Mount Rainier, Petrified Forest, and Grand Canyon National Parks. Muir's influence extended beyond literature and exploration. In 1892 he helped found the Sierra Club, an organization dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of the natural world. His advocacy also influenced national conservation policy during Theodore Roosevelt’s administration, helping to establish precedents for the protection of significant natural and historic sites under federal law.

Steep Trails is a beautifully written testament to Muir's limitless appreciation for the landscapes he worked so hard to preserve. Presented here in the scarce, large paper limited edition, it would be a significant addition to any collection devoted to Western exploration, conservation history, or natural history. We are very excited to be able to offer it to our collectors.