Pictures and Poems of the Pike's Peak Region. Pictures by W. H. Sanford, Poems by Ernest Whitney

Colorado Springs, Colorado: Published by Ernest Whitney, 1891. Oblong 8vo. 205 x 255 mm., [8 x 10 inches]. Title-page, 12 leaves of poems printed on tissue, and 12 photogravures. Bound in publisher's green cloth , title in gilt of upper board, blind tooled borders on both boards; edges a bit rubbed and bumped; otherwise a very good copy. Second edition originally issued in a limited number in 1890. The photogravures in his handsome volume include images of Pike's Peak from various positions, the "Gateway to the Garden of the Gods", views of Cheyenne Canyon, the Seven Falls, Ute Pass, and Monument Park, to name a few. Each image is well printed with high and low tones by the Press of the Photogravure Company of New York and possess details which make the Peake and its environment jump from the page. This monochrome reproductive technique created images "with an accuracy of detail and depth of tone" that reflected characteristics of an aquatint engraving. This copy is inscribed to "Harriet E. Whitney by her loving grandmama, A. S. F./December 25th, 1892." From census records, Harriet appears to be the daughter of Ernest Whitney. Whitney, an 1882 graduate of Yale was editor of the Yale Literary Magazine and an instructor of English at the College for a few years beginning 1884. An obituary which appears in the Magazine for 1893 reads in part, "His poems have brought him a sound and lasting reputation as an author." No information on the photographer W. H. Sanford could be found. Yale Literary Magazine, Vol. LVII, No. 5. Gascoigne, How to Identify Prints, 38a-b.