"Preliminary Report Concerning Explorations and Surveys Principally in Nevada and Arizona" is a 96 page, 9"x11.5" hardcover written by George A. Wheeler and published in 1872 by Government Printing Office (Washington, DC). It was the first report issued as part of the Wheeler Survey, an effort to map the United States west of the 100th meridian at a scale of 8 miles to the inch.
It's signed on the title page (dated March 1874) by Elliott Ladd Coues, historian, author and ornithologist who led early surveys of Arizona. It was later owned by another Arizona pioneer, Merrill P. Freeman, whose bookplate is found on the front pastedown and who donated the book to the University of Arizona, where he served as regent and chancellor.
The book is in acceptable (that is, poor) condition, disbound with all pages loose, age-toned and brittle. The library binding shows the usual library markings and attachments. There are further library marks to the title and copyright pages. The folded map is in three pieces, missing the bottom left section and left border, and has heavy tape repairs.