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WITH—
Missions of Upper California. A Supplement to Vischer’s Pictorial of California.
By Edward
Vischer.Tall 8vo, printed wrappers, light foxing. San Francisco:Winterburn & Co., 1872.
This rare title, with its beautiful binding and array of photographic images after works by Russell,
Watkins, and Muybridge, was a deluxe presentation copy presented to a discerning client. The
volume features a new visual iconography, one that details the special topographic, religious, and
geographic features unique to the state of California and incorporated photographic images,
drawings, maps, and engravings.
Vischer is best known for his pencil sketches of California landscapes throughout the 1860s and
1870s. He drew California missions, landscapes (trees, mountains, rivers), and rural scenes. Of special
interest are his drawings of theWashoe mining region, horses and wagons, including the Pony Express,
and even camels which were part of a short lived military experiment importing them to California.