Item #14427 Valley of the Gila and Dierra De Las Estrellas from the Maricopa Wells [Reports of Explorations and Surveys ... from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean]; Volume VII Report of Explorations for Routes from San Francisco Bay to Los Angeles, California, West of the Coastal Range by Lieutenant John G. Parke and Albert H. Campbell, 1854-55 [33d Congress, 2d Session, House, Ex. Doc. 91, Serial 797]. John G. Parke, Albert H. Campbell, Pacific Railroad Surveys.
Valley of the Gila and Dierra De Las Estrellas from the Maricopa Wells [Reports of Explorations and Surveys ... from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean]; Volume VII Report of Explorations for Routes from San Francisco Bay to Los Angeles, California, West of the Coastal Range by Lieutenant John G. Parke and Albert H. Campbell, 1854-55 [33d Congress, 2d Session, House, Ex. Doc. 91, Serial 797]
Valley of the Gila and Dierra De Las Estrellas from the Maricopa Wells [Reports of Explorations and Surveys ... from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean]; Volume VII Report of Explorations for Routes from San Francisco Bay to Los Angeles, California, West of the Coastal Range by Lieutenant John G. Parke and Albert H. Campbell, 1854-55 [33d Congress, 2d Session, House, Ex. Doc. 91, Serial 797]

Valley of the Gila and Dierra De Las Estrellas from the Maricopa Wells [Reports of Explorations and Surveys ... from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean]; Volume VII Report of Explorations for Routes from San Francisco Bay to Los Angeles, California, West of the Coastal Range by Lieutenant John G. Parke and Albert H. Campbell, 1854-55 [33d Congress, 2d Session, House, Ex. Doc. 91, Serial 797]

Washington DC: Bevery Tucker, Printer, 1857. Very Good. First Edition. A.H Campbell. [8.25x11in] One litho tinted illustrated plate, Part I, plate V; Light age-toning along edges with several light spots in margin. [Samuels p. 81, Taft p. 265]. Item #14427

This plate is from from Volume VII of the quarto edition of twelve volumes were published from 1855 to 1861 as exploration and survey reports became available. These volumes contained not only the survey maps and elevations, but a monumental collection of scientific reports on geography, geology, zoology, botany, and ethnology of the Native American tribes. The surveys also included 11 artists to record the landscape and indigenous peoples of the west.



Albert Henry Campbell (1826-1899) was a Railway survey artist-explorer, civil engineer and surveyor. He was one of the more important artist of the surveys and participated in several survey expeditions across the west from 1853 to 1854. In the fall of 1854, he joined the Parke survey expedition for a coastal railroad route from San Francisco to San Diego and the survey along the 32nd parallel to Arizona. All eight of the full-page illustrations are credited to Campbell in the report, three of California and five of Arizona scenes After the surveys, he was assigned to Washington as Superintendent of Pacific wagon roads to 1860. During the Civil war, he was a map maker for the Confederate Army and chief engineer of railroads based in West Virginia. (from Samuels)

The twelve volumes were disorganized in publication with no overall all arrangement or indexing. Some of the plates and maps referred to in volumes were published in other volumes, various reports were also published out of sequence relating to the four routes. Preliminary reports published were updated in latter volumes. (From Wagner-Becker-Camp) In 1853, Senator Gwin of California lead the inclusion of Congressional funding for 1853-54 of a series of surveys to determine the best and most economical railroad routes from the Mississippi River to the Pacific coast. The act directed the Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis to plan and direct Army topographical engineers to conduct surveys of four routes. The first was between the 47th and 49th parallels generally along the Lewis and Clark route to the Pacific. The Second route between the 37th and 39th parallels was promoted by Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. The Third route was along the 35th parallel. The Fourth route was promoted by Secretary Davis along the 32nd parallel that followed Emory’s 1846-47 reconnaissance.

Price: $45.00

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