The Pioneers

The Pioneers
Author: James Fenimore Cooper
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 577
Release: 2011-05-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0674057651

The Pioneers introduces readers to the colorful and enduring character of frontiersman Natty Bumppo. Forced by a local landowner to obey new hunting laws, Natty Bumppo rebels and finds allies in the landowner's daughter and a mysterious young stranger. Against the backdrop of the changing seasons, a varied cast of unforgettable characters is caught up in a drama that illuminates the essence of the American character and the conflict between a restlessly expanding society and the unspoiled wilderness that was here before us all.

Karl Bodmer, 1809-1893

Karl Bodmer, 1809-1893
Author: Nordamerika Native Museum
Publisher: Scheidegger and Spiess
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2009
Genre: Art
ISBN:

In May of 1832, Swiss artist Karl Bodmer (1809-93) set out with Maximilian Prince of Wied, a German aristocrat and scientist, on a 28-month journey along the Ohio and Missouri rivers. For Bodmer, the expedition resulted in more than 400 watercolors and sketches of Native American people, landscapes, animals, and plants. Engravings of many of the images were subsequently used to illustrate Travels in the Interior of North America, Prince Maximilian's well-known historical account. Karl Bodmer is an homage to the great painter who captured for the rest of the world so many important natural details of early America. Presented here are all 81 engravings used to illustrate Maximilian's book, and 9 of Bodmer's original watercolors and sketches, as well as photographs of artifacts collected during the legendary passage. Bodmer's detailed work is among the most important documents of Native American culture from that region. Almost all of these images are held today in public collections in the United States, including large collections at the Newberry Library in Chicago, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha. Karl Bodmer is a richly illustrated volume that brings to life a monumental event in both art history and the history of early America.

The Pathfinder

The Pathfinder
Author: James Fenimore Cooper
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 599
Release: 2015-02-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 067473632X

In 1831, James Fenimore Cooper told his publisher that he wanted to write a story set on Lake Ontario. The book was accepted, but with no hint that it would feature Natty Bumppo from the well-established Leather-Stocking Tales. The Pathfinder (1840) revisits Natty’s military service, extending a story begun in The Last of the Mohicans, and introduces the complications of love against the backdrop of the French and Indian War. Wayne Franklin’s introduction describes the personal and financial circumstances that led to Cooper’s resurrection of his most popular character, underscoring the author’s aim to offer Natty as a “Pathfinder” for a nation he feared had lost its moral bearings. The John Harvard Library edition reproduces the text of The Pathfinder from The Writings of James Fenimore Cooper (State University of New York Press). Since 1959 The John Harvard Library has been instrumental in publishing essential American writings in authoritative editions.