In a long ago time, great stretches of what is now the United States of America were under French influence. Not a lot of influence, mind you. Europeans were scarce in this territory that was still well under the control of Native Americans. European influence came through the hand of a few trappers and the traders working for outfits like the Hudson’s Bay Company. Not a powerful presence, but enough for those who believed the whole world belonged to Europeans to call it “New France.”
The English controlled the East Coast, later followed by their English-speaking cousins, the Americans, after our little disagreement was resolved. Spanish influence dominated the Southwest. But, the heartland was French. After all, Louisiana wasn’t named after an English king. In those days, Louisiana included land all the way into today’s Montana. Ultimately, the fate of French control was sealed by the Louisiana Purchase, limiting the heavy French influence to the much smaller Louisiana of today. That’s why we don’t go to Billings to celebrate Mardi Gras.
As an amateur, emphasis on “amateur,” historian, I started this project from my interest in the emigrants who traveled the Oregon Trail. Having experienced the tensions of this cross-country trip many years later with young children in a car, I could only marvel at those who did it by covered wagon. Before McDonald’s. We visited such sites as Chimney Rock, Scottsbluff, Fort Laramie, and South Pass. For me, the most inspiring stops were Register Cliff, where many travelers carved their names, and the nearby wagon wheel ruts, where the tire tracks of their wagons are still visible to this day.
The one contemporary written source with which I was familiar as I started my research was Francis Parkman’s California and Oregon Trail. With the aid of the
Americana Exchange Database (ÆD ), I parlayed that very limited amount of knowledge into a whole list of contemporary books. As the select (“select” being a euphemism for “small”) group of individuals who read my previous articles may recall, what I found were several books that long preceded the serious migration. These were written by some of the early trappers, and this brings us to our “French connection.” Many of those early trappers were French.
Two notable titles stand out from my research. One is Wilson P. Hunt’s Voyage de l’Embouchere de la Columbia a Saint Louis… The other is Gabriel Franchere’s Relation d’un Voyage a la Cote du Nord-ouest de l’Amerique… What can we learn about these pioneers and their important works? Here are a few things I discovered using the ÆD and other Æ Software.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
