New York: Baker and Scribner, 1849.
Price:
$950.00
About the item
First edition. 103,[4]pp. 12mo. Contemporary drab paper boards, a bit worn and stained. Text block toned. Contemporary Terre-Haute Indiana bookseller ticket on the front endpaper (A. Child). Wright I:2030; Cowan, p.477; Baird & Greenwood 1995; Kurutz 490a.
Item #378089
The first edition of what is generally regarded as the first American novel relating to the California Gold Rush, written by Peck under the pseudonym Cantell A. Bigly (Can tell a big lie).
Aurifodina, however, is of further interest as science fiction for its utilization of the lost race motif. Soon after making his fortune in the known gold fields, the protagonist treks east, attempting to reach Santa Fe, but instead comes upon the valley of Aurifodina. Therein live a highly civilized people and gold is as common as mud, and steel is the great rarity. The major portion of the narrative is occupied with contrasting the superior ways of the enlightened Aurifodinians with those of the outside world. The protagonist marries and lives a contented life until one day, while he is ascending in an observation balloon, an anchor line breaks, and he is carried east until he is finally downed near the Big Licks of Kentucky. As much as he wishes to return to Aurifodina, the prospect of an overland trek is too great for him, and he consoles himself with putting down his narrative for the enlightenment of others.
