In a June 2023 blog post I highlighted the most notable works in the Collection, in hopes of giving occasional visitors to the site something upon which to focus. I have long felt that the 2023 post was too long and broad, in addition to being, at this point, somewhat dated given subsequent additions to the Collection. Consequently, I resolutely undertook to produce a much more streamlined list.
There are many works in the Collection worthy of inclusion. I’ve tried to be much more selective, and to organize this post better, than the prior effort. Below are thirty works, ten from each of three discrete periods, with a brief description where apt. I have provided links to the Catalogue pages containing the detailed descriptions of each book.
I’ve tried to include just the most important, unique and “collectible” books by those authors whose works rise to the top in terms of influence on the writers’ peers and antecedents. Unless noted, all are first edition/first printing.
I’ve put asterisks by the ten which I would describe as the absolute most important. All of this is necessarily subjective, and I've consciously allowed some personal biases to come through.
PRE-1890
Gilbert White - The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (1789)
A classic which has been continuously in print since initial publication. The Collection contains multiple copies including two firsts, one a presentation copy and the other with White’s signature tipped in. [Link]
William Bartram - Travels (1791)
Influential on many levels. [Link]
Alexander von Humboldt - Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain (1811)
I could have chosen any of the works from the man who may have been the most learned of them all, and whose works informed generations of thinkers. [Link]
John James Audubon - Birds of America (1870)
First published over the years 1827-38 and so catalogued, this is the seventh royal octavo edition, the last using the original plates before they were destroyed. Eight volumes in extraordinary condition. [Link]
Ralph Waldo Emerson - Nature (1836)
First edition, second state, with a signed note from Emerson to his publisher James Monroe laid in. From the collection of Robert Hoe, co-founder of the bibliophile Grolier Club. [Link]
Susan Fenimore Cooper - Rural Hours (1850)
The first female author represented in the Collection, but her name is nowhere to be found in the book. Authorship is attributed to “A Lady.” [Link]
*Henry David Thoreau - Walden (1854)
First with gift inscription dated in year of publication and with April ads (the earliest, and while the dates on the ads are said to have “no priority,” earlier dates are clearly preferred). [Link]
*George Perkins Marsh - Man and Nature (1864)
The “fountainhead of the conservation movement", the first book dedicated solely to exploring the long-term negative impacts humankind has on the environment. Presentation copy to Marsh’s colleague, prominent VT Senator Jacob Collamer, with Collamer’s ownership signature. [Link]
John Burroughs - Walt Whitman as Poet and Person (1867) and John James Audubon (1902)
The Collection has more Burroughs material than that of any other author. Whitman is a rare copy of his self-published first book, inscribed to his close friend with whom he first read Whitman’s poetry. Audubon is the only book he ever dedicated to a person - this copy is inscribed by him to the dedicatee, Dr. Clara Barrus. [Link]
Anthology - Picturesque America (1872-74)
Massive, two-volume leather-bound work of great beauty and cultural influence. [Link]
1890-1950
William Gladstone Steel - Mountains of Oregon (1890)
A bit of a dark horse for inclusion, but influential in aiding Steel’s efforts to persuade the government to protect Crater NP and indeed the entire Cascade range. A relatively rare book generally, this copy is inscribed by Steel. [Link]
*John Muir - Our National Parks (1901)
Inscribed by Muir to a fellow founder of the Sierra Club. Enough said. The pamphlet “Prevent the Destruction of the Yosemite Park” (1908), from the unsuccessful Hetch-Hetchy campaign, is another of the many notable Muir items in the Collection. [Link]
Gifford Pinchot - The Fight for Conservation (1910)
Pinchot was the leader of the utilitarian wing of the conservation movement, and this is his manifesto. His Training of a Forester (1914) is more interesting from a pure collectibility perspective, but this book is more important. [Link]
William Hornaday - Wild Life Conservation (1914)
An inscribed copy by the most influential wildlife conservationist before Rachel Carson. His book Our Vanishing Wild Life (1913) was probably more important historically, this volume is more interesting from a collectibility standpoint. [Link]
Henry Beston - The Outermost House (1928)
Inscribed copy of the Cape Cod classic, with a separate signed drawing by Beston laid in. [Link]
William Beebe - Beneath Tropic Seas (1928)
Beebe was that rarest of beasts, a celebrity scientist and explorer who made huge strides in ecological studies and marine exploration. This copy is inscribed by Beebe and his colleagues, the artists Helen and John Tee-Van. [Link]
*Ansel Adams - The John Muir Trail (1938)
Signed and separately inscribed copy of the limited first edition. Among the most beautiful and physically impressive books in the Collection, by one of the century’s most important conservationists. [Link]
Richard Pough - Audubon Bird Guide: Eastern Birds (1946)
Pough was among the most influential conservationists of the 20th century, pioneer of legal conservation measures for private landowners, founder of Open Space Institute, and founding president of The Nature Conservancy. This guide, a signed copy, was popular and highly praised in part due to the naturalistic illustrations by Don Eckleberry. [Link]
*Marjory Stoneman Douglas - The Everglades: River of Grass (1947)
Douglas is credited with almost singlehandedly saving the Everglades (although I am sure there are many others whose work was invaluable - the whole “singlehandedly” thing is catchy but, I suspect, somewhat unfair to many good people). This is a first printing, which is tough to find. Another book by MSD in the Collection is inscribed by her. [Link]
*Aldo Leopold - A Sand County Almanac (1949)
Among the true essential texts of the EC movement, a culmination of Leopold’s development of his land ethic, which continues to guide and inform the movement today. Inscribed by Leopold’s daughter to family friends - it was published posthumously. [Link]
1950 AND BEYOND
Jacques Yves Cousteau - The Silent World (1953)
Cousteau's first book, co-authored by Frederic Dumas. Cousteau was the premier marine explorer and biologist of his, or any, time. His periodic television documentaries were an event in my house when I was growing up. [Link]
*Anthology - This is Dinosaur (1955)
The fight to save Dinosaur National Monument from inundation by proposed federal dams was a watershed moment (double entendre intended) in the development of the modern EC movement. This book was rushed into being at the urging of David Brower, with photos by Philip Hyde and edited by Wallace Stegner, who signed this copy. It was not only a key element of the successful campaign, but also served as the model for the Sierra Club’s hugely successful and influential exhibit format books of the coming decades (a number of which are contained in the Collection - see for example Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter). [Link]
James B. Trefethen - Crusade for Wildlife (1961)
I chose this book for inclusion for a few reasons. Interestingly, none have anything to do with the author himself. Most notably, it is inscribed by former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, an important conservationist with several books represented in the Collection, to Bob Hines, the only person to have held the title National Wildlife Artist. The book was published by the Boone & Crockett Club, co-founded by Theodore Roosevelt. The club and its members have been a major conservation force since inception. [Link]
*Rachel Carson - Silent Spring (1962)
Arguably the book that launched the modern environmental movement (This is Dinosaur is also a candidate). The Collection contains both a signed first edition and an extremely rare prepublication proof with substantial differences from the final published book. [Link]
Margaret and Olaus Murie - Wapiti Wilderness (1966)
Mardy Murie has been described as the "Grandmother of the Conservation Movement" by the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society. She and her husband Olaus were instrumental in the creation of the ANWR and other key conservation measures. Each won the Sierra Club's John Muir Award and the Audubon Medal, and Mardy was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This volume is inscribed by Mardy Murie stating that it was a gift from John McPhee, who is also represented in the Collection. [Link]
Roderick Nash - Wilderness and the American Mind (1967)
The seminal work on environmental history, a subject near and dear to my heart. The copy in the Collection has the bookplate of Rachel Carson's colleague Shirley Ann Briggs, who led the Rachel Carson Council for decades and is represented in the Collection. [Link]
Edward Abbey - Desert Solitaire (1968) and The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975)
The iconoclast's most influential works, both signed firsts. [Link]
*Bill McKibben - The End of Nature (1989)
Not the first book about global warming, but perhaps the first one with major impact. McKibben, who founded climate campaign group 350.org, has been described as "probably the nation's leading environmentalist" of his time. [Link]
Anthology - Heart of the Land (1994)
Thirty essays in support of the Nature Conservancy's 'Last Great Places' initiative. No fewer than ten authors represented in the Collection contributed. The copy in the Collection was the working copy of Peter Matthiessen, one of the contributors. [Link]
*David Brower - Let the Rivers Run (1995)
As important as anybody in the movement, Brower built the Sierra Club into the most impactful environmental organization of the 60+ years. Brower is represented in a great many books in the Collection one way or another. I chose this book because it is inscribed to musician John Denver. [Link]
By way of cheating - I feel it necessary to note the inclusion of a second edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1860) in the Collection, given that it was among the most influential non-fiction books ever written. I'd also like to call out Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass (2013) which, though temporally outside the scope of the Collection, is nevertheless included given its unique profundity.
And FWIW, the authors I struggled most with excluding were Peter Matthiessen, Barry Commoner, Terry Tempest Williams, E.O. Wilson, William Vogt, Fairfield Osborn and Alice Hamilton. The one I was saddest to leave out is Alice Eastwood (1905), whose story is amongst my favorite on the site.
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