Maclure, William; Observations on the Geology of the United States, Explanatory of a Geological Map. Philadelphia, Abraham Small, 1817. Quarto, pp. x, 127, two plates which are a hand-colored folded map and a hand colored folded plate of sections.

The work is complete and in a contemporary calf over marbled boards with gilt spine titles. The binding is tight with archival repairs to spine margins and inner hinge at front nicely re-enforced. Light toning to text, very light foxing to map. In very good condition.
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Maclure (1763-1840) was a Scottish geologist and statigrapher. He settled in the United States in 1797, traversed much of the eastern part of North America with an eye for the stratigraphy and prepared a colored geological map (the first colored geological map) of the country. The first copy of that work was appeared in 1809. Not satisfied with his abbreviated text and the first edition of his map which appeared in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society in 1809, Maclure set about gathering new data and after eight years of study, published a much expanded text and a much changed map. He corrected many minor details on the distribution of formations and a much more conspicuous delineation of the Appalachian range. Plate 2 was added which gave five sections across what was at that time the United States from the Atlantic     through the Appalachians and into his Secondary strata of the Mississippi. Many geological historians consider Maclure to be the "Father of American Geology".