1855 Group of Ten Landscape Prints Detailing the Pacific Railroad Surveys of the 38th and 39th parallels
By: J.W. Stanley based on F.W. Egloffstein
Date: 1855 (Published) New York
Dimensions: 7.5 x 9.4 inches (19 x 23.9 cm)
These prints depict portions of the route followed for the Pacific Railroad Surveys of the 38th and 39th parallels. During the 1850s the U.S. government sponsored a serious of expeditions with the purpose of gathering information regarding the vast regions it had acquired in northwestern America. This particular expedition was tasked with finding the most practical route for a transcontinental railroad.
The discovery of gold in California had stimulated westward traffic and increased the need for transportation to the area from the more settled regions to the east. Thus in 1853 the Congress commissioned the Army’s Topographic Bureau to conduct surveys with the objective of finding a route for a transcontinental railroad. Six major expeditions were organized, with five covering the area between the Great Plains and the west coast, and the sixth explored the coastal states of California and Oregon.
The expeditions were accompanied by naturalists and artists who were to document the landscape and flora and fauna along the route. On completion, the maps and lithographs were gathered and published in the 13 volume report ‘Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific Ocean’.
Condition: These subtly colored prints are in A and B condition. Some have marginal staining that rarely enter the image and other have minor edge tears.
Inventory #11094
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