Shyenne River — 1860 John Mix Stanley Tinted Lithograph, Pacific Railroad Survey — Field Find #0019

THE FIND
An original 1860 tinted lithograph titled Shyenne River, drawn by John Mix Stanley and printed by Sarony, Major & Knapp of New York — produced for the U.S. government's official Reports of Explorations and Surveys for a transcontinental railroad route. Plate 28 from the General Report. A primary document of American westward expansion, found loose and sold as-is.

WHAT WE KNOW
This print is identifiable by its plate markings: title SHYENNE RIVER at bottom center; Stanley Del. at bottom left (referring to John Mix Stanley as the artist); Sarony, Major & Knapp Liths. 449 Broadway N.Y. at bottom right; and General Report — Plate 28 at top right. The lithograph originates from the Pacific Railroad Survey reports, a monumental 12-volume government publication documenting potential transcontinental railroad routes through the American West in the 1850s. Stanley was the primary artist for the northern route survey. The print shows foxing (small brown spots) and minor edge wear consistent with paper of this age. Unframed; sold as found.

THE STORY
John Mix Stanley (1814–1872) was one of the most important documentary painters of the American West — a contemporary of Catlin and Bodmer who traveled extensively through the frontier recording landscapes, peoples, and places that few Eastern audiences had ever seen. His work for the Pacific Railroad Survey placed him in the field alongside government surveyors charting routes that would eventually become the transcontinental railroad. The Reports were published by Congress and distributed to libraries and institutions; individual plates like this one have since been separated from their volumes and circulated as standalone prints. This is a primary document — not a reproduction.

WHY WE CHOSE IT
Original Pacific Railroad Survey lithographs are increasingly hard to find outside of institutional collections. The Stanley attribution, the Sarony, Major & Knapp imprint, and the plate identification make this a fully verifiable, attributable piece of American documentary history. The foxing and edge wear are honest — this is a 165-year-old piece of paper that has survived intact.

ABOUT THIS PIECE
Title: Shyenne River
Artist: John Mix Stanley
Lithographer: Sarony, Major & Knapp, 449 Broadway, New York
Publication: Reports of Explorations and Surveys — General Report, Plate 28
Date: 1860
Condition: Good antique condition — foxing and minor edge wear present, consistent with age. Unframed, sold as-is.
Dimensions: [DIMENSIONS]
Weight: [WEIGHT]
Quantity: 1 — one of a kind.