EARLIEST OBTAINABLE MAPS OF THE SALT LAKE REGION, PUBLISHED AS PART OF STANSBURY'S REPORT

Howard Stansbury (1806-1863). Stansbury's Report. [cover title]. Washington, D.C.: [Lippincott, Grambo, & Co.] 1852. 8vo folder. Atlas volume only, with two (2) folding maps. Original brown cloth gilt-lettered. Rear board with patriotic embossment. FIRST EDITION. Graff 3947; Howes S-884; Sabin 90370; Wagner-Camp 219:1.

1. Howard Stansbury, cartographer; John Williams Gunnison (1812-1853); Charles Preuss (1803-1854).  Map of the Great Salt Lake and Adjacent Country in the Territory of Utah. New York Ackerman, lithographer, circa 1851. Approx. 31 1/2  x 42 1/8 in.

2. Howard Stansbury, cartographer; John Williams Gunnison (1812-1853); Charles Preuss (1803-1854). Map of a Reconnaissance between Fort Leavenworth on the Missouri River, and the Great Salt Lake in the Territory of Utah, made in 1849 and 1850... New York: Ackerman, Lithographer, circa 1851. Approx. 66 x 29 3/4 in. 

Two important maps from the early cartographic exploration of the Utah Territory. As Carl Wheat wrote in Mapping the Transmississippi West, the first map was "a major production...for the Great Salt Lake itself the map was definitive...scientific cartography for the Territory of Utah may be said to date from the appearance of this map." David Rumsey notes that it is "One of the earliest, and most important government maps of the Great Salt Lake area...and clearly shows the genius of Charles Preuss as a cartographer." 

The second, large map showing the route from Fort Leavenworth to Utah Territory is the Fremont/Preuss map of 1845 that has been enlarged and updated. Wheat notes that "the Stansbury expedition map [is] one of the most important of its decade."

Howard Stansbury (1806-1863) was a civil engineer who devoted his career to the Topographical Bureau, joining in 1828. His most notable achievement was leading a two-year expedition to survey and map the Great Salt Lake and its environs. Departing from Fort Leavenworth, the team took special care to evaluate the emigration routes, especially the Oregon and Mormon Trails, and scouted for possible routes for a transcontinental railroad. Once in Utah Territory, the team was initially met with skepticism as Brigham Young and other leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were worried the team was there to oust them from the Territory. Stansbury, however, met with Young and the Mormon leaders to assure them the expedition was purely scientific. Young then assigned his personal secretary, Albert Carrington (1813-1889) to assist the Survey team. Carrington is listed among the chief cartographers on each map's title. 

An excellent map pair to enhance Utah and Western Americana collections. 

References

David Rumsey. "Map of the Great Salt Lake." David Rumsey Map Collection.

David Rumsey. "Map of a Reconnoissance between Fort Leavenworth ... and the Great Salt Lake " David Rumsey Map Collection. 

Colton Storm, compiler. A Catalogue of the Everett D. Graff Collection of Western Americana. Chicago: The Newberry Library, The University of Chicago Press, 1968. 

Henry R. Wagner and CAMP. The Plains & the Rockies: A Critical Bibliography of Exploration, Adventure, and Travel in the American West, 1800-1865. San Francisco: John Howell-Books, 1982.

Carl Wheat. Mapping the Transmississippi West, 1540-1861. San Frncisco: Institute of Historical Cartography, 1957-1963. 

[Maps, Cartography, Cartographic History] [Engraving, Prints] [Western Americana, Western History, Western Expansion, Wild West]

Some separations and tears.