The American West, Fiction, Art and More from Back of Beyond Books

Traveling to Utah in covered wagons was tough, and many Mormons actually made their journey pulling handcarts, tougher still. Obviously, a better means of making it west, particularly for those who wanted to proceed all the way to the Pacific, was needed. Visionary thinkers proposed building a railroad, a daunting prospect considering the distances, terrain, and state of technology at the time. Nonetheless, the government undertook a major survey to find a route to build such a railway. Item 86 is the 13-volume set of the Reports of Exploration and Surveys, to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. The survey was conducted from 1853-54, the volumes released a few years later. This report is filled with information, including many maps and lithographs of the American West in the days when settlements were few and far between. Fifteen years later, the dream would be realized with the hammering of the golden spike, which completed the Pacific railway, opening the West to a level of settlement never before imaginable. $12,000.

The image you see on this page (and a blow up from it is seen on the catalogue's cover) is called Ruby Castles Canon of the Grand. This is a 1900 print by William Henry Jackson of a Denver & Rio Grande railway train making its way through Ruby Canyon. The rail line runs through the canyon, along the banks of what was then known as the Grand River (today known as the Colorado). The railroad parallels the Colorado River along the Colorado-Utah border, from Mack, Colorado, to Westwater, Utah, and the only practical way to view the canyon, other than rafting, is by train. The red cliffs are present along the river just across the Utah side of the border. Item 107. $3,000.

Next, Back of Beyond offers an opportunity to hear Navajo Creation Chants from 1929. Yes, we really do mean hear. While item 52 contains a booklet describing the chants, it also includes five 78-rpm records, which were pressed in 1950. You will need to pull out your old record player to play a 78, and good luck finding a 78 needle for it, but history awaits your search. Item 52. $400.

Back of Beyond Books may be reached at 435-259-5154 or andy@backofbeyondbooks.com. Their website is found at www.backofbeyondbooks.com.