usgs

Led by Captain Clarence E. Dutton, the U.S. Geological Survey’s exploration of the Grand Canyon in the early 1880s resulted in a scientific text and this stunning over-sized folio atlas, considered the greatest book by any of the government surveys of the American West. The expedition included artist/archaeologist William Henry Holmes and the artist Thomas Moran. Three double-page, color-tinted lithographed plates by Holmes, when set together, form the magnificent “Panorama from Point Sublime.” In the bottom left corner Dutton is depicted leaning over Holmes as he sketches the view.