Office Topographical Engineers (2 results)

No Binding. Condition: Good. Original oblong engraving from a 1862 Harper's Weekly - ENGRAVING ONLY! Measures W15 1/2 x H10 1/4 inches including border - light soiling/foxing/creases with several small tears at edge. Bookseller since 1995 (LL-15Drw#24) RAREVIEWBOOKS.

Hardcover. Condition: Poor. 1st Edition. Hardcover. In original black blindstamped cloth gilt front cover decoration. First edition, quarto, Senate issue, 367 pp. (including appendices) illustrated with 68 in-text illustrations, 9 black and white lithographs, 9 tinted lithographs (8 pearl gray and 1 ocher), 8 folding b&w panoramic views, 1 profile, 7 chromolithographic plates of Indians, 2 fold out topographic maps, and two hand colored geological maps (which were issued in only a minority of copies of the Senate version. The House of Representatives version was not issued with the geological maps). Bound in original cloth with gilt vignette of steamboat on cover. Lithography by Sarony, Major and Knapp of New York. Map sizes: 34 ½ x 14 ½ inches (all 4 maps). *** Condition: Complete with all plates and maps including the two very scarce geological maps. Extensive shelfwear; backstrip lacking. Stain and rubbing to front cover decoration. Front board detached. No ownership stamps or markings. Text and plates mainly clean with toning to some pages, marginal staining to a plate or two and a few scattered small spots. The maps have short opening tears and some small toning spots. A good candidate for rebinding to your specification. Marcou 784, Wheat 947 and 948 (topographical maps only), Merrill p. 360. *** This report contains the official account and scientific results of the first of the three great explorations of the Colorado River undertaken by the Federal government during the mid-19th century. Well written and illustrated with many fine woodcuts, lithographs and maps (some in color), the Ives report ranks as one of the most important and best Army surveys conducted in the American west. Wheat devotes over 6 pages to this expedition plus 2 double page maps. Very hard to find with all maps and plates present. In 1857, the Ives expedition up the Colorado River was conceived to develop potential supply routes along the river in event of war with Mormon settlements in Utah. The report consists of 5 parts plus 4 appendices: General Report by J. C. Ives; Hydrographic Report by J. C. Ives; Geological Report by J. S. Newberry; Botany by Gray, Torrey, Thurber, and Engelmann; and Zoology by S. F. Baird. The b&w woodcuts, plates and folding views depict striking topographic views of river, valley, and mountain scenes; panoramic views of canyons and other scenes; geological features; and fossils. Topographic map No. 1 follows the water route along the river from its mouth to "head of navigation" and map No. 2 follows the land route to Ft. Defiance including the "Canyon of the Colorado". Newberry prepared his geological maps by modifying these maps with additional titles and coloring for geological formations (up to 7 colors used). All maps are dated 1858. The Ives exploration accomplished many "firsts" including the first recorded descent to the floor of the Grand Canyon (which he called Big Canyon) by non-Indians. His report contains the first published views of the Grand Canyon (criticized by some as dark and gloomy) which nevertheless proved very popular with the American public. Newberry's report contains the first published geologic section of the Canyon which, given the conditions under which he worked and state of knowledge at the time, was a remarkable accomplishment. His geological maps are the first to specifically focus on the Plateau country at the canyon. He correctly attributed the Canyon's existence to fluvial erosion, but erred in unraveling its history (as later worked out by Powell, Dutton, and Holmes). Egloffstein's maps of the Colorado River and Colorado Plateau utilized a new printing technique that depicted physical features in shaded relief style, and were the first maps thus produced.…