California Illustrated

“Dear Reader: If you have visited California, you will find nothing in these pages to interest you; if you have not, they may serve to kill an idle hour." With this bit of stark understatement, the reader is introduced to California Illustrated, a journal published in 1852. This book chronicles the author’s journey with a group of travelers making their way to California. There’s whale spotting, a shipwide illness, and the travelers' arrival at the Islands of Turks and Caicos—and that’s just in the first chapter. California Illustrated offers a glimpse of the many and varied human experiences that made up a journey to the West. It’s also a handy reminder that a journey to California might include a sea voyage to and from Panama, rather than a covered wagon crossing the plains.