The first photographs of the American West were created at a time when photographers were going out into the world instead of the world going to the photographer’s studio. From about 1870 onward, American photographers produced pictures of the American West to educate an eastern, urban populace. The photographs were created to show the beauty of this land and were proof positive that its’ scenic wonders were not a mountain man’s tall tale or the flights of fancy from an artist’s sketch pad.