The Yellowstone National Park - photo 1
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 2
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 3
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 4
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 5
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 6
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 7
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 8
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 9
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 10
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 11
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 12
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 13
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 14
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 15
The Yellowstone National Park - photo 16

The Yellowstone National Park

Lot 43
16.06.2023 16:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 403 200
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 965133
Lot 43 | The Yellowstone National Park
Estimate value
$ 200 000 – 300 000
The Yellowstone National Park
Thomas Moran and Ferdinand Hayden, 1876
HAYDEN, Ferdinand V. (1829-1887) and Thomas MORAN (1837-1926). The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. Boston: Louis Prang, 1876.

“The first [illustrations] to adequately depict to the world the extraordinary scenes of the Yellowstone … Moran’s rendering of those natural wonders have long been acknowledged as the most skillful depiction of the park’s glories” (Best of the West).

Magnificent copy of the most magnificent book ever created to celebrate a U.S. National Park and “one of the most famous American color plate books, and the greatest American landscape book of the post-Civil War era” (Reese). Thomas Moran's chromolithographs rank among the finest ever produced, dramatically capturing the natural beauty of Yellowstone. Hayden, who headed the United States Geological Survey during its investigations of the mountain regions of the West, employed Moran as artist to the expedition. Moran's watercolors represent some of the earliest views made of the spectacular scenery of the then-unknown region and, along with the photographs of William Henry Jackson, who was the official photographer of the Geological Survey under Hayden, helped define the American West for the public.

The images and official reports were instrumental in gaining public support for the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872. Moran journeyed further with the survey, recording views in Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah. Among these is "The Mount of the Holy Cross," which was inspired by the immense popularity of Jackson's photographs of the mountain. Moran produced his image during a special trip to Colorado in 1874; it was awarded a medal at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876.

The book was issued as a commercial publication by Louis Prang of Boston and marked "the beginning of his dominance of the finest American chromolithographic work in the last quarter of the century" (Reese). According to Bennett, the book is "marvelously reproduced ... hand work could never give the effect of perspective and distance achieved in the towering scenes reproduced here." This work was printed in a small number of copies and issued unbound, with the plates loose in a portfolio. Hence complete works, with none of the plates removed for display and retaining all text leaves, are very rare. Bennett p. 80; Bobins 813; Graff 1830; Howes H-338 ("b"); Reese Best of the West 189; Reese Stamped with a National Character 99.

Folio (540 x 412mm). Title-page, preface, contents leaf and 13-page introduction. 2 maps lithograped in two colors; 15 chromolithographed plates after Thomas Moran mounted on card, signed with the artist’s monogram in the plate, each 248 x 356mm, or vice versa (pl.1 with a repaired crease to lower left corner, pl.8 with slight color loss in sky at upper right corner, scattered very few tiny flecks to colors; short tear to mount of pl. 13, some of the mount corners just bumped). Modern half morocco gilt, to style, and using early black pebbled cloth on covers, all edges gilt; modern half morocco box.Hayden, Ferdinand Vandeveer
Moran, Thomas
Yellowstone
Western Americana
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
16.06.2023
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>