Crossing the Bitter Root River in Western Montana, USA - Tinted Lithograph, 1856
€ 220
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1856
Sheet size
20.7 × 28.3 cm (8.1 × 11.1 in)
Reference
BG-14038-26
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Very good, with minimal foxing at the margins. The image is crisp, and the colors remain vivid and well-preserved.
About this sheet
Travelers fording the Bitter Root River, an original tinted lithograph after John Mix Stanley, issued in 1856. The caption reads "Crossing the Bitter Root", with "Stanley Del." at lower left and "Sarony, Major & Knapp Lithg., 449 Broadway N.Y." at lower right. The header reads "U.S.P.R.R. Exp. & Surveys, 47th & 49th Parallels" and the sheet is numbered General Report, Plate XXXIV.
A party of riders and pack animals wades through the shallows of a broad, calm river in the middle ground, with two horsemen in the foreground and the long line of the column strung out behind them. A fallen log lies across the near bank, snow-laden evergreens rise at the left, and a bare conical mountain stands over the wooded valley beyond. The river reflects the trees and sky, printed in soft greens and grays.
The 47th and 49th parallels route was the northern survey led by Isaac Ingalls Stevens, governor of Washington Territory, and the plates after Stanley and Sohon record country that was then little known to the eastern public. The plate comes 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.
