"This is the first complete English edition of a rare item of Americana entitled Das Illustrirte Mississippithal, originally issued in a German translation in the 1850s. Although it was written in English and illustrated by Henry Lewis, an American artist living in Germany, only 74 pages of the work were ever published in the author's native tongue. Lewis based the work on firsthand information gained while living in St. Louis and on trips to the Upper Mississippi in 1846 to 1848. But the great value and interest of the book lies in the 78 lithographed illustrations which Lewis executed in color to accompany his text. His charming and historically accurate views of scenes and towns along the river valley from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico depict a bygone era when America was young"--Amazon.