Chemin de fer

Fort Vancouver W.T. General Report - Plate XLIV from: 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 1853-4 according to Acts of Congress of March 3 1853 May 31 1854 and August 5 1854.

1855 · 63044 — Washington: Beverley Tucker A.O.P. Nicholson & Thomas H. Ford 1855-1860. One coloured lithograph sized 11.25 x 8.5 in. extracted from the original Explorations and Surveys volumes a fine crisp copy. First edition of this view of Fort Vancouver Washington Territory while future General Ulysses Grant was stationed there as a quartermaster Captain. The original survey was one of the most important and massive compilations of exploration reports and scientific data ever published about the Trans-Mississippi West. Published by the Federal Government at the urging of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis and the result of numerous reconnaissance surveys of exploring four major routes surveyed for the Pacific Railroad -- these reports represent the first attempt at a comprehensive systematic geographical exploration of the Western regions of America and made possible the first reasonably accurate topographical maps of the West. Vols I & XII parts 1 & 2 are still considered some of the best early sources of information on the Pacific Northwest the Puget Sound and the tribes of Washington Territory. Of the eleven official expedition artists the most prominent is the renowned John M. Stanley 1814-1872 most widely known for his portraits of Native Americans and their way of life. Warren's Map of the Territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean Vol. XI was considered by Howe as the best cartographical work on the West up to its time and was used for 25 years following as the definitive reference. Graff 4435; Hill pp. 301-302; Howes P3; Sabin 69946; Taft pp. 4-9; Wagner-Camp 262-266a 267:1; Wheat Mapping the Transmississippi West IV pp. 67-91. Beverley Tucker, A.O.P. Nicholson, & Thomas H. Ford, unknown