Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park
Saint Paul, MN: Brown & Bigelow, (c.1924). Single sheet [29 cm x 18 cm] printed in color. Title printed at lower right. Reverse contains a typed mileage table from Helena to East Glacier with a list of places to stop. Better than very good. Item #7140
Nice color image featuring Thomas Moran's painting of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The original hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. "Moran's trip to Yellowstone in 1871 marked the turning point of his career. The previous year he had been asked by Scribner's Magazine to rework sketches made in Yellowstone by a member of an earlier expedition party. Intrigued by the geysers and mudpots of Yellowstone, he borrowed money to make the trip himself. Numerous paintings and commissions resulted from this journey, but the sale of his enormous (7 by 12 feet) Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1872, National Museum of American Art) to Congress shortly after passage of the bill that set Yellowstone aside as the first National Park, brought Moran considerable attention." - National Gallery of Art.
The Northern Pacific influenced the development of Yellowstone National Park in a number of ways. The company built a line from Livingston that eventually reached the Park border and attracted visitors
to the area. The railroad paid for hotels to be erected at various locations throughout the Park that brought well-heeled visitors for overnight stays. The involvement of the Northern Pacific with the park dates back to 1870, with the exploration of the park by the Washburn Expedition. According to legend, the party concluded that the natural wonders should be preserved as a national park. Nathaniel Pitt Langsford, who was on the expedition, publicized the wonders he had seen in the park on his return to the East Coast, and Jay Cooke, financier for the Northern Pacific Railroad, hired him as a publicist to obtain financial support for his railroad and to promote the park.
Price: $65.00