Presentation Copy to Whipple of Pacific Railroad

Reports of Explorations and Surveys to Ascertain the Most Practical and Economic Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean… 1853-1854. Washington: [Printed by Beverley Tucker], 1855 -[1861].
Presentation copies from War Dept to Whipple -- preserved in unopened mailing packages with labeling and manuscript address to Whipple. In all 12 volumes: Volumes I-XI (of XII) plus a duplicate copy of Volume I. 4to., (11 2/8 x 8 2/8 inches). Illustrated throughout with lithographed maps and plates, many hand-colored and many folding. All but volume III (contemporary calf) in original blue cloth; several volumes PRESERVED IN THE ORIGINAL UNOPENED PAPER MAILING PACKAGES WITH WAR DEPARTMENT LABELS AND MANUSCRIPT ADDRESS TO CAPT. A.W. WHIPPLE (some exposed binding a bit worn, volume III lacking its spine, paper wrapping with some losses and worming). Provenance: with the ownership inscription of Amiel Weeks Whipple in volume one, original packaging addressed to him, his sale his sale from the library of Amiel Weeks Whipple (1818 - 1863), his sale Doyle New York, 23rd April 2012, lot 134. First editions, PRESENTATION COPIES FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT TO AMIEL WEEKS WHIPPLE, of the official report of the monumental Pacific Railroad survey to which Whipple contributed the report of the survey of the route along the 35th parallel. In 1849, after completing work with the Northeastern Boundary Survey, Whipple was assigned to the Mexican Boundary Survey team. "The peace treaty with Mexico was recently signed, and the group was exploring great lengths of land unknown to Americans and Europeans... With the northern and southern borders established and the discovery of gold in California, the United States Congress saw the need for exploration of the interior lands. There was much discussion of a super highway for travelers to safely navigate from the Mississippi River to the pacific coastline. By an act of Congress, Secretary of War Jefferson Davis was charged to conduct surveys for the first transcontinental railroad route to the Pacific Ocean, near the 35th parallel. Five teams were sent, the Northern, Central, and coastal Pacific surveys were commissioned along with two Southern Pacific survey teams, one of which was led by Lt. Whipple. The journals of this expedition are very thorough and contain details regarding supplies, the hiring of cooks and assistants, as well as environmental, topographical, and cultural observations. Whipple kept records with meticulous detail, often writing while on horseback or aboard a train, evident through his varied penmanship. "The survey party reached Oklahoma Territory on Friday July 15, 1853. After a lengthy crossing of the Poteau River, the wooden cart which carried men, supplies and surveying equipment, ran into a tree stump and was broken. A summer storm crept up on the team and Lt. Whipple soon found himself walking through knee deep puddles on the prairie. Sunday provided a day of rest for the men and the animals, and by Tuesday July 19, the team had arrived at the Choctaw Agency. Surveying the land and observing the inhabitants gave Lt. Whipple many things to write about, and his journal entries for the month of August are extensive and illustrate his view of the prairie (Jennifer Silvers Oklahoma Historical Society). Graff 4435; Hill, pp. 301-302; Howes P3; Sabin 69946; Taft, pp. 4-9; Wagner-Camp 262-266a, 267:1; Wheat, Mapping the Transmississippi West IV, pp. 67-91.Catalogued by Kate Hunter