The text is complete and in the original cloth with gilt stamped titles. The binding is tight and clean, gilt titles bright, minor shelf scuffing and corner bumping only to binding, text and plates are very clean. The atlas is complete and in the original cloth binding with gilt stamped titles. Binding is tight and clean with bright gilt cover titles. Minor scuffing and minor corner bumping to covers. The plates are very clean and bright. The panoramic views in the Kaibab division (plates 15-17) and Vulcans Throne panorama (plate 6) are exquisite. The Moran panorama of the amphitheater is very clean and free of blemishes. This atlas is exceptionally clean with absolutely no blemishes to the plates. Overall the set is in exceptionally nice condition.
Clarence Dutton (1841 – 1912) was an American geologist and US Army officer. He was was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, graduated from Yale College in 1860 and took postgraduate courses there until 1862, when he enlisted in the 21st Connecticut Volunteers and fought at Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Nashville and Petersburg during the Civil War.
In 1875 he began his career with the U.S. Geological Survey and worked primarily in the Colorado Plateau region. He wrote several classic papers on the region including geological studies of the high plateaus of Utah (1879-80), and the Tertiary history of the Grand Canyon district. He then wrote a classic study on the Charleston, South Carolina earthquake of 1886. As head of the division of volcanic geology at the USGS, Dutton studied volcanism in Hawaii, California, and Oregon.
Dutton was known for his literary description, and is best remembered today for his descriptions of the geology and scenery of the Grand Canyon region of Arizona and his greatest accomplishment is his Tertiary History of the Grand Canon District. It is still considered the preeminent work on the Grand Canyon. The atlas is beautifully illustrated with maps and views engraved by Julius Bien. Sheet XVIII of the atlas, entitled "The Transept, Kaibab Division, Grand Canyon" is based on the beautiful painting of the same title by the artist Thomas Moran (1837-1926).
The field artist for Dutton's geological study of the Grand Canyon was William Henry Holmes (1846-1933). Holmes was most noted for his sense of realism and attention to detail. The views include a number of images that are designed to form larger continuous panoramas. His three greatest works in the atlas contain a view from Point Sublime in the Kaibab: the three double page sheets sheets (numbered XVI-XVII), if joined, would form a single panoramic view measuring approximately 17" high by 90" wide.
The atlas, containing the superb panoramic views by William H. Holmes and Thomas Moran, is also a wealth of geological knowledge with a collection of maps. A complete copy of the atlas and text is seldom seen with the plates free of blemishes.
