1857 EXPLORATIONS & SURVEYS RAILROAD ROUTE to PACIFIC Book PACIFIC NORTHWEST

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

1857 EXPLORATIONS & SURVEYS RAILROAD ROUTE to PACIFIC Book PACIFIC NORTHWEST:
$200.00

Up for sale is one of the more sought-after volumes in the pre-Civil War series of U.S. government reports on the planning of the Transcontinental Railroad, entitled REPORTS of EXPLORATIONS and SURVEYS, to ASCERTAIN the MOST PRACTICABLE and ECONOMICAL ROUTE for a RAILROAD from the MISSISSIPPI RIVER to the PACIFIC OCEAN. Made Under the Direction of the Secretary of War, in 1854-5... VOLUME VI. Published in Washington by A.O.P. Nicholson in 1857. This particular volume is devoted to a Report by Lieut. Henry L. Abbot, Corps of Topographical Engineers, Upon EXPLORATIONS for a RAILROAD ROUTE, From THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY to the COLUMBIA RIVER, Made by Lieut. R.S. Williamson, Corpos of Topographical Engineers, Assisted by Lieut. Henry L. Abbot, Corps of Topographical Engineers.

A very large tome, bound in three-quarter leather over marbled boards, and which is sought after mainly for its early color plates of the scenery in northern California and the Pacific Northwest. The first section contains most of these color lithograph plates, but the sections on Botany, Geology andZoologywhich follow also have several striking natural history plates in color. Many other woodcuts besides.

All of the plates appear intact (including all thirteen scenic platesin the first section), and they include:

Lassens Butte, from the Vicinity of Camp 18

Mouth of Fall River, Near Camp 20

Upper Klamath Lake, from Camp 28

Mount Pitt, Klamath River, and Upper Klamath Lake; from Camp 30

Cascade Range, with Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, and Mount Adams; from Pass West of Camp 40

Three Sisters, and Canon of McKenzie\'s Fork of Williamette River; from Camp P

Diamond Peak and Ravine of Middle Fork of Williamette River from Camp 48W

Canon of Psuc-see-que Creek, near Camp 41

Mount Hood, from Tysch Prairie

Mount Jefferson and Black Butte, from Camp S

Castle Rock, in Canon of Mpto-ly-as River, near Camp 53, A

Shasta Butte and Shasta Valley, from a Point near Camp 79, A

Curves illustrating the tables of horary oscillation deduced from observation taken on the survey

Western Slope of Main Ridge of Cascade Mountains, from near Camp M

and this doesn\'t even mention the striking lithographs of various pine species, or the zoological plates in the rear. All plates intact, which is extremely unusual for this book.

The book itself is fragile, with the leather binding splitting between pages 96 and 97 of the first section, but the book is still holding together. Title on spine still legible, although faint, and both boards intact and still attached. Interior pages and plates have occasional foxing, but nothing too heavy. Text and illustrations all complete.

A rare intact example of this landmark work in American history and exploration. Issued in twelve volumes, the series is rarely found complete, with individual volumes having been frequently ordered from the government to satisfy the various needs of individual purchasers.This particular volume is one of the more richly illustrated, with the scenic plates in the beginning usually selling for $40 each or more. Good luck!