Collection consists of the book Sun Pictures of Rocky Mountain Scenery, with a Description of the Geographical
and Geological Features, and some Account of the Resources of the Great West; Containing Thirty Photographic Views Along the
Line of the Pacific Rail Road, from Omaha to Sacramento, which was published in 1870 by F.V. Hayden. Hayden was in
charge of the United States Geographical and Geological Survey and he wanted to capitalize on interest in visual images of
the West and to promote the study of geology. Hayden explains in the book: "The pictures have been arranged so as to
commence with the first range of mountains west of Cheyenne, and to continue thence to the Salt Lake Valley with the view
that the book may be used as a guide by those who will avail themselves of the grand opportunities for geological study..."
This book comes with thirty albumen photographs taken by photographer Andrew Joseph Russell that illustrate not only
geological, but also man-made structures in Wyoming, Utah, and California.
Biographical Note:
Russell (1829-1902) grew up in New York and was a painter and a teacher before moving to New York City in 1859 to learn the new art of photography. During the civil war he became a military railroad photographer for the Union Army. After the war he returned to New York City but in 1868 he was hired by the Union Pacific Railroad to photograph the building of the transcontinental railroad. Between 1868 and 1870 he took over 800 glass-plate negatives and thousands of stereoview negatives. In 1870 Russell returned to New York City where he spent the rest of his career working as an artist and photographer for Leslie's Illustrated.
Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (1829-1887) was a pioneer geologist and the head of various geological and geographical surveys in the West from 1867 to 1886. Hayden was raised in New York and graduated with an M.D. from the Albany Medical School in 1853. During the civil war he was a surgeon, but before the war, he spent most of his time in the West exploring and studying geology.
Researcher Note:
This book is stored in the vault, but copy negatives and contact prints of the images are available for researcher use. Register
completed by Daniel Davis, June 2001.
Inventory:
Box 1.
01. image Moore's Lake - Head of Bear River, Uintah Mountains, Utah.
02. image Granite Rock - Buford Station, Laramie Mountains, Wyoming.
03. image Skull Rock (Granite) - Sherman Station, Laramie Mountains, Wyoming.
04. image Malloy's Cut - Sherman Station, Laramie Range, Wyoming.
05. image Dial Rock - Red Buttes, Laramie Plains, Wyoming.
06. image Laramie Valley - from Sheephead Mountains, Wyoming.
07. image Snow and Timber Line - Medicine Bow Mountain, Wyoming.
08. image High Bluffs - Black Buttes, Wyoming.
09. image Bitter Creek Valley - near Green River, Wyoming.
10. image Burning Rock Cut - Green River Valley, Wyoming.
11. image Citadel Rock - Green River Valley, Wyoming.
12. image Castle Rock - Green River Valley, Wyoming.
13. image Church Buttes - Near Fort Bridger, Wyoming.
14. image Lake at the head of Bear River - Uintah Mountains, Utah.
15. image Conglomerate Peaks - Echo, Utah.
16. image Sentinel Rock - Echo Canyon, Utah.
17. image Hanging Rock - Echo City, Utah.
18. image Coalville - Weber Valley, Utah.
19. image Thousand Mile Tree - Weber Canyon, Utah.
20. image Wilhelmina's Pass - distant view of serrated rocks or Devil's Slide, Weber Canyon, Utah.
21. image Serrated Rocks or Devil's Slide (near view) - Weber Canyon, Utah.
22. image Tunnel No. 3 - Weber Canyon, Utah.
23. image Devil's Gate (from below) - Weber Canyon, Wasatch Mountains, Utah.
24. image City Creek Canyon - Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake Valley.
25. image Wasatch Range of Rocky Mountains - from Brigham Young's Woolen Mills, Utah.
26. image Salt Lake City - Camp Douglas and Wasatch Mountains in the Background, Utah.
27. image Great Mormon Tabernacle - Salt Lake City, Utah.
28. image Trestle Work - Promontory Point, Salt Lake Valley, Utah.
29. image Summit of Sierra Nevada - snow sheds in foreground, Donner Lake in the distance, Central Pacific Railroad, California.
30. image Hydraulic Gold Mining - near Dutch Flat, Central Pacific Railroad, California.
For more information: 435/797-2663; Photograph Librarian.
Special Collections & Archives, Merrill Library, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322-3000
Web creatrix: Georgen Gilliam; with Great Technical Assistance from Chris Zuhars.
