The Hudson - From the Wilderness to the Sea by Benson Lossing - 1866

This is a richly illustrated antique copy of "THE HUDSON (River) - From the Wilderness to the Sea" by Benson Lossing. 1866 1st edition; Virtue and Yorston; New York. Three-quarter leather binding with marbled covers, 5 raised bands on the spine, gilt top page edges and marbled end papers. The book features 306 "engravings on wood" from drawings by the author, and a frontispiece illustration on steel (of the "Source of the Hudson in the Indian Pass").

From the author's Preface: "It is impossible to give in pictures so necessarily small as are those which illustrate this Volume, an adequate idea of the beauty and grandeur of the scenery of the Hudson River; so, in the choice of subjects, the judgment was governed more by considerations of utility than of mere artistic taste. Only such objects have been delineated and described as bore relations to the history, traditions, and business life of the river here celebrated, whose course, from the Wilderness to the Sea, measures a distance of full three hundred miles."

Condition:
Some light wear to the bands on the spine, and to the top and bottom edges of the spine; some rubbing to the leather along the edges of the spin; worn corners; 1.5" scuff line at the lower-left corner of the back cover. Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. Clean interior with only a few random light smudges found; no writing, foxing or tears found. Bright gilt top page edges. Overall the book is in very good condition.