FINE CALIFORNIA VIEWS. THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF A.W. ERICSON

INSCIRBED BY THE AUTHOR ON THE FRONT FREE ENDPAPER AS FOLLOWS: "For Sarkis & Virginia | in remembrance | of their trip to | Arcata and the hinterland | of Humboldt Co. | Peter Palmquist 8 Jan 1982." 4to. (27 cm.) 111p. Introduction with a large black and white captioned photo of Augustus William Ericson (1848-1927). A.W. Erickson: A Life Chronology (pp. 1-13--with many black and white captioned photos of Ericson and the places where he lived and worked). Notes about the Plates (p. 14). Portfolio (pp. 17-110-- black and white full page photos with narrative captions). Plate Credits (p. 111). Tan cloth over gray cloth spine with gilt letters on the front cover and the spine. No noticeable wear to the extremities, cloth clean and bright, gilt bright (!), all photos in fine condition, else fine with no internal markings. Dust jacket shows just a hint of soiling at the edges, a small chip is missing from the top edge of the rear cover, else near fine to fine and not price clipped. "One might wonder that an entire book is devoted to a previously obscure and little-known photographer. Augustus William Ericson [1848-1927] has remained relatively unknown and without the recognition he richly deserves despite widespread display of many of his photographic images, which have appeared repeatedly throughout the years without proper credit. A glance through the portfolio portion of this book will quickly reveal his unique contribution to the documentary art. This effort, then, is an attempt to share the personal excitement and enthusiasm of the author with regard to Erickson's photographs. His photographs of Northern California Indians and early day redwood logging rate among the best in existence. Textbooks have widely reproduced illustrations of his images in these areas. Thus, while portions of Ericson's work have obtained limited recognition, the bulk of his images and his personal life have remained obscure. America has had many photographers; only a handful have had the unique sense of destiny that caused them to diligently devote a large portion of their lives to the process of completing a meaningful visual document. Ericson's photographs provide one such insight into history, through their record of the economic and social growth of 19th century California frontier into 20th century modernity. For this reason, his photographs succeed, in the same manner that photographs taken by the pioneer wet plate photographers during the geologic and mapping expeditions of the 1860s and 1870s were successful. They communicate the assets and beauty of a land coming of age." [from the Introduction] " Peter E. Palmquist resides in Arcata, California. He is a Fine Arts graduate of Humboldt State University, and is presently employed by that institution as the University Photographer. Palmquist's interest in A.W. Ericson began as a duty of his employment, when Mrs. Francis Purser, a librarian at the University, requested that he copy a number of old negatives recently donated to the library. Within a short period of time he found himself on the lookout for additional original prints and negatives, and continues his search today. In this process, he has been aided by the surviving members of the Ericson family, notably Mrs. Ella Ericson Bryan and her son, Dr. Robert V. Bryan. Mr. Palmquist is a member of the Photographic Historical Society of America, the Humboldt County Historical Society, and several professional photographic organizations." [from the dust jacket Which includes a black and white photo of Palmquist] Just a sumptuous volume of photos of early California scenes together with an extensive well documented chronology of the Life of A.W. Erickson.…