Scenic Valley of Kah-Wee-Ya River with Mountain Backdrop in California, 1856

Landscape · 19th century

Scenic Valley of Kah-Wee-Ya River with Mountain Backdrop in California, 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-14038-65

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

In very good condition with slight age toning. Colors are clear, and details are sharp.

About this sheet

The valley of the Kah-wee-ya River, also called Four Creeks, an original tinted lithograph from the Pacific Railroad Surveys, issued in 1856. The caption reads "Valley of Kah-wee-ya River (Four Creeks)", with "From a sketch by Chr. Koppel" at lower left and the Hoen & Co. Baltimore credit at lower right. The header reads "U.S.P.R.R. Exp. & Surveys, Cal."

A wide valley of scattered oaks stretches away toward low, rounded hills and a long range of snow-covered mountains beneath a sky of streaked cloud. In the foreground two Native figures sit side by side on a rocky rise at the left. The tints are soft blue-green and gray, with the warm browns of the hills.

The Kah-wee-ya is the Kaweah River, which flows from the Sierra Nevada into the San Joaquin valley, in present-day Tulare County, California. The plate was drawn for the California survey reports, published in Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.