"Mississippi Mystery, Henry Lewis and the English Edition of One of the Greatest 19th Century American Illustrated Books - Das Illustrirte Mississippithal"
John Neal Hoover, Director of the Mercantile Library, St. Louis, will speak on one of America's greatest 19th century illustrated books, based on Henry Lewis's mile long panorama paintings of the Mississippi Valley. Lewis's life and times are intertwined with these large-scale canvases, which were presented on moving panoramas as a kind of 19th-century motion picture. The paintings toured the world and then disappeared from view, seen only in fragments, miniature facsimiles, and the the legacy of the book. The German language edition encouraged immigration into the ante bellum Middle-West. Until recently, only one English translation copy of this book was known to exist. Now a second has been discovered for comparison and some clues regarding its printing history. Following the presentation, copies of Hoover's lastet book, Mapping St. Louis History: An Exhibitoni of Historic Maps, Rare Books and Images will be for sale and signing.
211 South Clark Street, PO Box 2329, Chicago IL 60604-9997
Tel: +1 (312) 970-1294 info@caxtonclub.org
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