A pioneering creator of city and country views in the American West, Alfred Mathews' works ranks only behind Bodmer, Catlin, Moran, and Warre as illustrated depictions of the opening of the West. 

Organized geographically, the tinted lithographs comprise twelve views in Colorado, two in Idaho Territory, two in Montana, and four in Utah; each view is accompagnied by a descriptive text leaf. The final Appendix leaf includes endorsements by President Grant and others. "Mathew's famous lithographs were among the first true representations of the Rocky Mountains to be made available to the public" (Streeter).