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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
Washington, DC, A.O.P. Nicholson, Printer. 1855. Twelve volumes bound in thirteen. Large, thick quartos. Profusely illustrated with maps, lithographed plates, colored lithographed plates, profiles, etc. Publisher's contemporary binding. Leather back and corners over marbled boards. Volume XI in publisher's black cloth, bindings worn and chipped in places. Volume XI cracked at top of rear joint. Occasional light foxing. Some pages browned in Volume VII, Part 2. A few pages with heavy foxing in Volume X, Part 4. Heavy foxing in early leaves of Volume XI, and with a small tear hole to the front free endpaper. Ten inch tear to the general map (map 1). Damage to top of page 55-56 in Volume XII, Book II, Part III. Despite the few blemishes mentioned here, this is a very good, handsome set of the railroad surveys. As to illustrations and maps - Volume III, Section II: extra color plate, view of Black Forest Mount Hope; Volume III, Section III: extra color plate, Mojave Indians, lacks text plate 35, Pictographs at Yampais Spring; Volume III, Section IV: one extra map; Volume V, Section II: map 2 not called for, and not present; Volume V, Section II: Geology plate 10 lacking; Volume VI, Part IV: plate III of Mammals trimmed on right side; Volume X, Section III: Birds - two extra plates, 7 hand colored present, calls for 5 [bibliography calls for 6]; Volume XI: 32 folding maps, as called for; Volume XII, Book I: plate 22 lacking, plate 23 is duplicated (repeated). This series of volumes, known as the "Pacific Railroad Surveys" was organized by the War Department, six parties were sent out to survey the four main RR routes that were under consideration for the ultimate route of a transcontinental railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. All the parties gathered data relating to the natural history, local resources, peculiarities, climate, geography, topography, meteorology with barometric profiles, geology, botany, zoology, and paleontology. Included also are statistics on Indian tribes living along the various routes. See pages 468-507 in Becker's Wagner-Camp #261:1 thru #267:4 (1982) for bibliographic detail. A very good set of this imporatnt publication. Very Good.
Offered for US$ 6000.00 by: Barry Cassidy Rare Books - Book number: 12285
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