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"Cloth binding signed by the designer: M.A. [i.e. Margaret Armstrong]; "A WEEK ON THE CONCORD AND MERRIMACK RIVERS. ; New York: T. Y. Crowell & Co., 1911. First Thus. 8vo (8½” x 6"). pp. 492. IN ORIGINAL DUST JACKET. Unsigned binding design by Margaret Armstrong in red and two tones of textured gold on smooth green cloth of the titles surrounded by a frame composed of interwoven Cardinal Flowers (Lobelia cardinalis); spine with titles surrounded by a smaller frame composed of Cardinal Flower stems, leaves and flowers; top edge gilt. Original paper dust jacket with titles and a reproduction of the illustration opposite page 42 in green on the front panel, and advertisements for Crowell on the rear panel and flaps. Incldes full page frontis. and 32 additional illustrations in black and white after photographs by Clifton Johnson. The author's first book chronicling the 1839 boating trip Thoreau took with his brother, John, to the New Hampshire White Mountains by way of the Concord and Merrimack rivers. Comprising both prose and poetry, the book includes romantic descriptions of the natural environment as well as thoughtful digressions on philosophy, literature, and history. Thoreau worked on the first draft during his time at Walden Pond (1845 to 1847), and completed the second draft in late 1847. He continued to expand and revise the book until its publication in 1849. Armstrong uses Cardinal Flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) in the present binding design - a native American wildflower found throughout New England - as her primary decorative motif. She likely chose it because it because Henry and John Thoreau would have seen it growing along both the Concord and Merrimack rivers, as it is commonly found in wet meadows along the rivers and streams of the Northeast. A very good + copy with a contemporary child's Christmas gift inscription to "Mother Dear"; two (½” and ¼”) white spots on the upper rear cover; slight darkening to the spine stamping as is common for books late