Title: |
Peluse Falls (Palouse Falls, Montana) |
Artist: |
Stanley, John Mix (Canandiagua, NY, 1814 - Detroit, 1872) |
Date: |
1855 |
Medium: |
Original Lithograph with Tint Stones |
Printer: |
Sarony, Major & Knapp, New York |
Note: |
John Mix Stanley: A famous Indian painter
and survey artist, John Mix Stanley began his career in Detroit in1834
as a painter of houses and signs. The following year he apprenticed under
the portrait painter, James Bowman. In 1839 Stanley lived and worked at
Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and, in 1842, he set up his studio at Fort Gibson,
Oklahoma. Stanley’s first exhibition of Indian paintings took place
in Cincinnati in 1846. |
|
Along with Kit Carson, John Mix Stanley joined the Kearny military
expedition to aid in the conquest of California. In 1847 he painted Indian
portraits and scenes in Oregon and in 1848-49 he was painting native scenes
in Hawaii. In 1852 Stanley's art became known to the entire country
when 150 of his paintings were exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute. |
|
In 1853 John Mix Stanley was commissioned as the artist
for the northern railroad survey which explored a possible transcontinental
route along the 47th and 49th parallels. "Peluse Falls" (Peluse Palouse, in present
day Washington State, was created by the artist for this important expedition.
In 1854 the artist married and spent the remainder of his career in Detroit.
Today the famous western art of John Mix Stanley is included in such
collections as the Smithsonian Institution, the Detroit Art Institute,
Buffalo Historical Society and the Honolulu Museum of Art. |
|
The Pacific Railroad Surveys: In the mid
nineteenth century transportation from America's east coast to
its new territories on the west coast were achieved either by the long
shipping routes around South America or by dangerous horse or wagon travels
through hostile lands. The discovery of gold in California, however,
greatly increased the need for a transcontinental railway and, in 1853,
Congress commissioned the Army's Topographic Bureau to conduct
multiple surveys to determine the best route for such a major undertaking.
To this end six expeditions were formed. Each expedition was accompanied
by both topographical artists and naturalists who provided valuable information
for such institutions as the Smithsonian. The northernmost survey, commanded
by Isaac I. Stevens, explored the terrain along the 47th parallel, from
St. Paul, Minnesota, to Puget Sound on the Pacific Coast. The second
survey, under the command of Captain J. W. Gunnison, took a route following
the 38th, 39th, and 41st parallels, through what is now Kansas, Colorado,
Utah and Nevada. The third Expedition, under Lt. Whipple, followed the
35th parallel from Fort Smith, Arizona to the Mojave Desert in southern
California. The fourth and fifth surveys followed the southern, 32nd
parallel, one following the Red River to the Rio Grande, and the other
working between the Rio Grande and the Colorado River. The final expedition
explored the area between the Sacramento Valley, California, and the
Columbia River, Oregon. |
|
From both a geographic and scientific standpoint, the Railroad
expeditions were a valuable accomplishment. The western territories were
extensively explored and mapped and the knowledge associated with the
fields of geology and biology in these areas was tremendously increased.
The lithographs created from these surveys were published in twelve large
volumes between 1855 and 1860 by the War Department under the title of,
Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable
and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the
Pacific Ocean. The majority of the topographical views, were printed
by the American lithographic companies, Sarony & Major Co., New York,
Sarony Major and Knapp, New York, A. Hoen & Co., Baltimore and T. Sinclaire, Philadelphia.
Many of these fine, early lithographs of western views employed multiple printings
in both tones and colors. This original example entitled, "Peluse Falls"
(Peluse Palouse) was printed by the New York firm of Sarony Major and Knapp.
Many of these fine, early lithographs of western views employed multiple printings
in both tones and colors. |
|
Napoleon Sarony (Quebec, 1821 - New York, 1896): Born of English parents in Quebec City, Napoleon Sarony learned lithography from his father and emigrated to New York in 1836. There, he worked as an apprentice for several lithographers, including Nathaniel Currier. Sarony then opened a lithographic business in partnership with Henry B. Major. The company went through a number of confusing overlapping alterations in names and partnerships. It was called 'Sarony and Major' (c. 1846 - 1857. Then Sarony's company bore the title, 'Sarony & Company' (c. 1853-1857). During the mid 1850's, Joseph Fairchild Knapp (1832-1891), entered the firm and the name of the company was expanded to 'Sarony, Major & Knapp' (c 1855 - c. 1864), Peluse Falls (Palouse Falls, Montana) hails from this period. Around 1864, Sarony left the company to pursue a new career in photography. Students of early photography will at once recognize his name as he rose to become one of America's most famous pioneers in this field and at this point, the firm then took on the name of, Major & Knapp around 1864, and by 1888 it became known as The Knapp Company. Around 1890, Joseph Palmer Knapp (1864-1951), purchased the company from his father and shortly after renamed it, the 'Joseph P. Knapp Co.'. Later, the company would assume the title of the 'American Lithographic Company (ALCO)', and from 1892 to 1929, it became one of the largest lithographic firms in North America. Then in 1929 the firm was purchased by the United States Printing & Lithographic Company, and the Consolidated Litho Company took over their label producing division. |
|
The following is a ist of various lithographs dating from 1846 to 1918 associated with Sarony's company.
Sarony and Major (1846-1857): Burns and Highland Mary (1846), housed in The National Museum of American History,
Portrait of James K. Polk (1846), The Storming of Chapultepec (1848), and Columbia college dedicated to the
class of '52' (1852), housed in the NYPL, Catalog Call Number: MEZN Eno; Eno 295. Sarony & Company (1853 to 1857):
Canadian River near Camp 38 (1855)
for The Pacific Railroad Surveys and several lithographs for the Narrative of
the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan... (1856). Sarony, Major & Knapp (
c 1855 - c. 1864): Peluse Falls (Palouse Falls, Montana) (1855)
for The Pacific Railroad Surveys, The Old Gotham Inn, --in Bowery (1862), housed in the NYPL, Catalog Call Number:
PC NEW YC-Inn-18, and Private residence of the late Mayor Tieman's father (1863), housed in the NYPL, Catalog Call
Number: PC NEW YC-Hou-18. Major & Knapp. (c. 1864 - 1871): Public Room at the 5th Ward Museum Hotel for D. T.
Valentine's Manual (1864), housed in the franklin & Marshall College Library, Transformation Polka From the
Black Crook (1867), housed in Washington State University (WSU Libraries), Identifier Source: Butler1238.jpg., and finally,
the American Lithographic Company Company, New York: Fairbanks Fairy Soap
Company (1901), Coqueta (Advertising Cigar Label Trimming) (c. 1885),
For Home and Country - Victory Liberty Loan (1918), as well as many other historical works of art. |
Source: |
Pacific Railroad Surveys: 47th & 49th Parallels |
Size: |
9 3/4 X 6 1/4 (Sizes in inches are approximate,
height preceding width of plate-mark or image.) |
|
Matted with 100% Archival Materials |
Condition: |
Printed on smooth wove paper and with full margins as published
in New York in 1855. Containing some staining spots in
the outer margins, else a fine impression using full tint stones and
in good condition throughout. "Peluse (Palouse) Falls" represents a prime,
original example of the important, early Western art of John Mix Stanley. |
Subject: |
Washington State, Palouse Falls, Peluse Falls, J. M. Stanley, Kearny
expedition. 47th and 49th Parallels. |
Price: |
Sold - The price is no longer available. |
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