Napier, William Henry Edward
William Henry Edward Napier (1828 - 1894) was a Canadian artist, surveyor, and engineer. He was born in Montreal; his father was a secretary to Lord Elgin, of Elgin Marbles fame. He was trained as a civil engineer by Walter and Frank Shanly in Montreal and also developed his skills as an artist at this time, though his training, if any, is unknown. Napier was chosen as a surveyor for the Canadian government's 1857-1858 Red River Expedition and drew many watercolors during the expedition that were early artistic depictions of the lands of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. After the Red River Expedition, he served as the resident engineer for the Grand Trunk Railway and then worked on several engineering projects in Europe before returning to Canada in 1868 to work on the Intercolonial Railway. In 1870, he moved to Scotland and spent the rest of his life in London and Edinburgh.
Canada's Westward Expansion.
Plan Shewing The Proposed Route From Lake Superior To Red River Settlement...
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A historically significant 1858 map of the Canadian region stretching from Lake Winnipeg and the Red River Settlement to the western shores of Lake Superior. It is based on surveys by Simon James Dawson and William Napier, conducted during a Canadian government-sponsored expedition undertaken the previous year, and was published in Henry Youle Hind's Report on a Topographical and Geological Exploration of the Canoe Route Between Fort William, Lake Superior, and Fort Garry, Red River... The expedition's work, along with a concurrent British-financed expedition over some of the same territory, greatly stimulated interest in both London and Ottawa for Canada's westward expansion, which was realized in the following decades. (more details)