Lot of 2 Stansbury's Expedition maps in original government binder. This expedition was one of the most important early expeditions to the West. In 1849, Stansbury was ordered to travel from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to survey the Great Salt Lake in Utah, to evaluate emigration trails along the way (especially the Oregon and Mormon Trails, and to scout for possible locations for a transcontinental railroad. The expedition consisted of 18 men including second in command Lt. John Williams Gunnison. During the next 2 years, the expedition explored the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake and the Cache Valley of Northern Utah all the way to Fort Hall in Southern Utah. The Big Four of the Central Pacific Railroad (Leland Stanford, Marc Hopkins, Charles Crocker & Collis Huntington) used this set of maps 15 years later to guide them on the best rout to the Transcontinental Railroad. The maps are 43 x 32 inches."Howard Stansbury (February 8, 1806 [x=#8211/] April 17, 1863) was a major in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. His most notable achievement was leading a two-year expedition (1849[x=#8211/]1851) to survey the Great Salt Lake and its surroundings. The expedition report entitled Exploration and survey of the valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, including a reconnaissance of a new route through the Rocky Mountains was published in 1852 providing the first serious scientific exploration of the flora and fauna of the Great Salt Lake Valley as well as a favorable impression of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who had settled there beginning in 1847." from wikipedia.com. The maps have folds and tears, binding spine is split, please inspect.