In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries early travelers to the American Midwest wrote of the natural wonders they found, the privations they suffered, and the native inhabitants they encountered. This exhibit showcases rare books and maps from the Collection which record this early exploration and settlement. The materials in the exhibition are drawn from a collection given to the University of Chicago Library by the late Mrs. Florence Lowden Miller. Much of the collection was originally assembled by Mrs. Miller's father, former Governor Frank O. Lowden. The Governor was an assiduous collector of books on local and regional history; through the generosity and vision of his daughter, his personal interest continues to enrich the University Library's collections.