Scottish born naturalist, John Muir, helped change the way American's view their natural environment. He was instrumental in lobbying for the creation of protected spaces, most notably leading to the creation of Yosemite National Park in 1890. Throughout his life Muir promoted the preservation of nature, strongly opposing actions that threatened to impact on his beloved wilderness.
This commitment to the cause has made him a modern day environmental hero. Muir has dozens of mountains, forests, walking routes and public buildings named after him throughout the US. He is so widely respected in his adopted California that he was also the first person to be given his own commemorative day
When it came to authoring books, Muir confessed that he was not an inherent writer and that he had to put painstaking effort into every word and sentence. His fans argue that this makes his books all the more attractive and worthwhile for the sheer endeavour it took to produce them. Combined with his folk-hero status, for collectors it is just an additional reason that Muir's books are of particular interest.
Muir conceded that no amount of writing could ever truly convey the beauty and majesty of nature; the only way to know a mountain was to be exposed to it. Nonetheless, during his career Muir produced several hundred articles and twelve books which have helped readers to understand more about the natural world around them.
Prices are fairly reasonable for his work with first editions of The Mountains of California (1894) being available for around $400; The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (1913) and Travels in Alaska (1915) each hitting around $200.
Rosse, Irving C. Cruise of the Revenue-Steamer Corwin in Alaska and the N.W. Arctic Ocean. Government Printing Office, GPO (1883). With John Muir; E.W. Nelson; Includes Medical and Anthropological Notes on Alaska; Botanical Notes on Alaska; Birds of the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean; 4 tinted lithographs, 3 collotypes, and 5 chromolithographs
Muir, John. Picturesque California. Dewing Company, San Francisco (1888). Illustrated with over 600 etchings photogravures wood engravings photo-etchings etc. including 120 full page tissue-guarded plates; Illustrated with photogravures, and wood engravings by Thomas Moran, Julian Rix, Frederick Remington, Thomas Hill, and other prominent American artists
Muir, John. Mountains of California. Century, New York (1894). 1st state has1 at bottom of first text page
Muir, John. Picturesque California. The J. Dewing Company, New York and San Fransisco (1894). The Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Slope; With essays by John Muir, Ernest Ingersoll, Charles Howard Shinn, George Hamlin Fitch, T. S. Van Dyke, Joaquin Miller, and others Includes; illustrations by William Keith, Victor Perard, Julian Rix, Charles Dormon Robinson, F.O.C. Darley, Thomas Hill, J. Ivey, and others.
Muir, John. The Mountains of California. Century, New York (1894). Frontispiece lithograph from a drawing by J. Folles, with 50 relief halftone illustrations and 2 maps
Burroughs, John. Alaska. Doubleday Page and Co., New York (1901). John Muir, George Grinnell, William Dall, Charles Keeler, Henry Gannett, William Brewer, C. Hart Merriam and M.L. Washburn; Two volume set; Volume 1: Narrative, Glaciers, Natives; Volume 2: History, Geography, Resources. Harriman Alaska Expedition. two volumes
Burroughs, John. Harriman's Alaska Expedition. Doubleday, New York (1901). 2 Vols; John Muir, George Grinnell, William Dall, Charles Keeler, Henry Gannett, William Brewer, C. Hart Merriam and M.L. Washburn; Two volume set; Volume 1: Narrative, Glaciers, Natives; Volume 2: History, Geography, Resources; volume I, narrative of glaciers and natives, volume II, history, geography and resources, frontispieces in color, twelve color plates of landscapes, twenty-five color plates of birds, mammals, and flowers, eighty-five photogravure plates, 240 text figures, one sketch map, one color plate map, one color folding map, green cloth, gilt lettering with green dust wraps.
Muir, John. Stickeen. Houghton Mifflin / Riverside Press, Boston (1909). The Story of a Dog
Muir, John. My First Summer In The Sierra. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston (1911). With Illustrations from Drawings made by the Author in 1869 and from Photographs by Herbert W. Gleason
Muir, John. The Story of My Boyhood and Youth. Houghton Mifflin, Boston (1913). the text contains 9 b/w illustrations from sketches by the author
Muir, John. LETTERS TO A FRIEND. Houghton Mifflin, Boston and New York (1915). WRITTEN TO MRS. EZRA S. CARR; 300 copies printed.
Muir, John. Travels in Alaska. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York (1915). 12 full-page plates from photographs by Herbert Gleason; Color illustration on front cover is from the painting of Muir Glacier by Thomas Hill Muir's; Limited edition contain 450 copies.
Muir, John. A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf. Houghton Mifflin, Boston (1916). Frontispiece portrait, of Muir, with a tissue guard, map of Muir's route, plus 11 additional b/w illustrations and a color paste-on on the front cover from a watercolor by Amelia M. Watson; 550 copies.
Muir, John. Writings of John Muir. Houghton Mifflin, Boston and New York (1916). Illustrated with 69 black and white photogravures by Charles S. Olcott and Herbert W. Gleason eight color photogravures many halftones; 750 copies; Vol. 1 - The Story of My Boyhood and Youth and A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf; Vol. 2 - My First Summer in the Sierra; Vol. 3 - Travels in Alaska; Vol. 4 - The Mountains of California (vol. I); Vol. 5 - The Mountains of California (vol. II); Vol. 6 - Our National Parks; Vol. 7 - The Cruise of the Corwin; Vol. 8 - Steep Trails. Volumes 9 and 10 - The Life and Letters of John Muir (edited by William Frederic Bade)
Muir, John. THE CRUISE OF THE CORWIN. Houghton Mifflin, Boston and New York (1917). JOURNAL OF THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION OF 1881 IN SEARCH OF DE LONG AND THE JEANNETTE; Illustrated with a handcolored photogravure frontispiece, map, and 25 plates from photographs (including several by Edward S. Curtis) and author's sketches; Edited by William Frederic Bade; 550 copies printed.
Muir, John. Steep Trails. Houghton Mifflin, Boston and New York (1918). California, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, the Grand Canyon; Illustrated with a handcolored photogravure frontispiece of Mount Shasta, 16 plates from photographs, most by Herbert Gleason; Edited by William Frederic Bade; 380 copies printed.
Frederic, William. The Writings of John Muir. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York (1924). Manuscript Edition (10 Volume Set); 69 photogravure plates, including the frontispieces, with 36 relief halftone illustrations from drawings and sketches by Muir, and 8 maps; Limited to 750 copies; The contents are: v. 1. The Story of My Boyhood and Youth and A Thousand-mile Walk to the Gulf; v. 2. My First Summer in the Sierra; v. 3. Travels in Alaska; v. 4-5. The Mountains of California; v. 6. Our National Parks; v. 7. The Cruise of the Corwin; v. 8. Steep Trails; v. 9-10. The Life and Letters (edited by William Frederick Bade (1871-1936).
Muir, John. Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. Houghton Mifflin Co, Boston (1948). Edited by Charlotte E. Mauk; 64 full-page photographic plates; The work includes extensive photographic notes for each of the 64 photographs by Adams.
Muir, John. Printing and the Mind of Man. Cassell and Company, London (1967). A Descriptive Catalogue Illustrating the Impact of Print on the Evolution of Western Civilization during Five Centuries; Annotated in pencil by David A. Randall
Muir, John. Printing And The Mind Of Man. Holt, New York (1967). Muir, Percy H; A Descriptive Catalogue Illustrating The Impact Of Print On The Evolution Of Western Civilization During Five Centuries; Annotated in pencil by David A. Randall; Introduction by Denys Hay
Carter, Percy H. Printing and the Mind of Man. Karl Pressler, Munchen (1983). Muir, John; Second Edition Revised and Enlarged
Muir, John. My First Summer in the Sierra. Yolla Bolly Press, Covelo (1988). Foreword and a note on the text by Frederick Turner; Illustrated with twelve stunning wood engravings by Michael McCurdy; 110 copies.