Dream West

DAVID NEVIN

Publication: G P Putnam's Sons, 1983, New York

First edition. Thick 8vo. Two-tone quarter cloth and boards, light blue front and rear endpapers, 639 pp., acknowledgments. Laid-in is a Kroch's & Brentano's, Chicago, First edition Circle book mark. Fine, bright copy in a bright dust jacket with a tiny closed tear to the top edge of the front cover.

Superb first edition of this mammoth historical novel about explorer John C. Fremont and his wife Jessie Benton. Set in the early to mid-1800s, Fremont maps uncharted territories and through a blend of historical fact and fictionalized narrative, the novel chronicles his daring explorations of the American West, his ambitious political career, and his passionate marriage to Jessie Benton Fremont, the daughter of powerful U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton. Also delves into the complex political landscape of the time, including the tensions leading up to the Civil War, slavery, and the shifting power dynamics in Washington. The book was the basis of the 1986 television miniseries, and tipped into this copy is a choice autograph addition: on an inner flyleaf is a 3½" X 5½" glossy portrait of a young RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN (1934-2025), who portrayed Fremont; he inscribes and signs in blue fine line near the bottom "To Terry / Best Wishes / Richard / Chamberlain." Fine. Tipped onto the facing flyleaf is a modern glossy 5" X 7" photograph, a reproduction of a well-known portrait of a young Fremont. Quite an unusual copy.