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American Views: U.S. Railroad Survey 1855
To enhance the beauty of the black and white engraving, a professional watercolor artist has skillfully decorated this print. Special training is needed to master the coloring techniques used on these antiques. To safely preserve this print for the enjoyment of future generations, we have mounted it in special acid free museum quality mat boards.
People readily identify with antique views of their own region. The face of America has changed so vastly that it is fascinating to compare your town with what it looked like long ago, to see what's changed and what has not.
From the 1830's through the 1890's, many thousands of views were produced. Before the picture postcard took over, these engraved scenes illustrated the news, sold the real estate, showed the character of life to others far away.
When the United States of America became a truly continental power in the 1840s, she took possession of territory that was unsurveyed, unsettled and largely unknown. The boundaries were drawn, but little was known about the lay of the land, its inhabitants, even the flora and fauna of the place. Three troop columns were sent out to survey the West, through northern, central and southern routes to survey proposed railroads. Each expedition included artists and scientists to report on what was encountered.
The objective of each group was to accurately picture and describe all things of interest. Views were drawn by artists attached to each group. Their drawings were then returned to Washington and printed as colored lithographs.
The results were published, starting in 1853, as The United States Railroad Survey. These valuable volumes contained many significant illustrations of interest to geographers and geologists, ethnologists and ornithologists, as well as people just interested in the history of their area.
These beautiful 6 x 9 prints caused great excitement, they were indeed the talk of the entire country when published by our government in 1855. These old lithographs are now scarce and valuable collectors items and wonderful authentic treasures of the early west.
Our staff has selected the 75 best of these views which depict various western settlements, forest, Indians, and topography, the very lithograph you will hold in your hand may well have been held in the hands of your ancestors some 150 years ago.
U.S. Railroad Survey Views - 1850
Towns, Missions and Settlements
# Description Price
1 View of Benica (early California capitol) CA $70
2 Mission of San Diego, CA $150, check for availability
3 U.S. Military Post Benica, CA $70
4 Mission and Plain of San Fernando $100
5 Saint Paul, MN (Minnesota Territory) $100
6 Coeur D'Alene Mission, St. Ignatius River $60
7 Hudson Bay Mill, WA $50
8 Chemakane Mission, ID $60
9 Ft. Smith, Arkansas $80
10 Mission Church of San Xavier Del Bac (New Mexico Territory now Arizona) $125, check for availability
Forts
11 Ft. Massachusetts (West now Colorado) $70
12 Ft. Vancouver $60
13 Ft. Union - Distribution of goods to the Assinniboines, MT $80
14 Ft. Benton, MT $60
15 Ft. Owen - Flathead Village, MT $60
16 Ft. Okimakane, WA $80
17 Chemakane Mission, ID, WA $60
18 Old Ft. Walla Walla, WA $60
19Cantonment Stevens, Looking Westward, MT $40
80Vicinity of Fort Miller $40
The Indians
20 View of the Gila Below Great Bend, AZ $40
21 Valley of the Gila & Sierra De La Estrellas from the Moricop Wells, AZ $40
22 Rio Colorado near the Mojave Villages (view #1)AZ, CA $60
23 Camp scene in the Mojave Valley of Rio Colorado(view #2)AZ,CA $60
24 Rio Colorado near the Mojave Villages (view #3)AZ, CA $60
25 Zuni, NM $50
26 Navajos, AR $70
27 Mojave Indians, AR,CA $70
28 Comanche Camp on Shady Creek, OK $60
29 Indian Altar & Ruins of Old Zuni, NM $50
30 Zuni Sacred Spring, NM $50
31 Camp Red River Hunters, MT $50
32 Council with White Man's Horse, MT $50
33 Lt. Crovers Depatch - return of Governor Stevens to Ft. Benton, MT $50
34 Blackfoot Indians - Three Buttes $100
35 Nez Perces $100
36 Distribution of goods to the Gros Ventres $100
Important River Views
37 Crossing of the Chowchillas River, CA $50
38 Sheyenne River, ND $50
39 Milk River near Junction of Missouri River, MT $50
40 Crossing the Hellgate River, Jan. 6th, 1854, MT $50
41 Bitter Root River near Ft. Owen, MT $50
42 Columbia River - Junction of Des Chutes, MT $40
43 Marias River, MT $40
44 Falls of the Spokane, WA $60
45 Dalles, WA $60
46 Crossing the Bitter Root $40
47 Peluse Falls, WA $40
48 Kettle Falls, Columbia River $40
49 Grand Coulee $50
50 Great Falls of the Missouri River $60
51 Canadian River near Camp 38 $50
77 Crossing The Hellgate River, May 5th 1854 $60
Important Mountain & Valley Views
52 Teton Valley, MT $60
53 Flathead Lake, looking southward, MT $70
54 Entrance to the Bitter Root Mountains by the Lou Lou Fork, MT $40
55 Rocky Mountains, looking westward, MT $40
56 Puget Sount & Mt. Rainier from Whitby's Island, WA $100
57 Mount Rainier Viewed from near Steilacoom, WA $100
58 Mt. Baker & Cascade Range from Whitby's Island, WA $100
59 San Francisco Mountain (New Mexico) $50
60 Valley of Bill Williams Fork, AZ $50
61 Lassens Butte from vicinity of Camp 18, CA $50
62 Upper Klamath Lake from Camp 38, OR $60
63 Mount Pitt, Klamath River & Upper Klamath Lake from Camp 30, OR $60
64 Cascade Range with Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, Mount Adams, OR $50
65 Diamond Peak & Ravine of Middle Fork of Williamette River, OR $50
66 Mount Hood from Tysch Prairie, OR $60
68 Shasta Butte & Shasta Valley, CA $50
69 Minnehaha or Browns Falls near Fort Snelling, MN $60
70 Valley of La Cuesta Rio Pecos, NM $40
76 Colorado Desert and Signal Mountain $60
79 Valley in the slipe of the Great Basin; Leading from the Tejon Pass $60
The Best Natural History Prints
71 Herd of Bison near Lake Jessie $75
72 Mammouth Tree Beauty of the Forrest (Redwood) $60
73 Junipirus Occidentalis (Juniper) $60
74 Pinus Ponderosa (Ponderosa Pine) $60
75 Ables Douglassu (Douglas Fir) $60
78 Manzanita $60
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