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[ 19th century regional maps of the U.S. ]
One of the first maps to focus on the northern plains east of the Rockies. New settlers were moving into the northern plains in the early 1850s, and many emigrants passed through the region on their way further west along the Oregon Trail. This area had been part of the original Missouri Territory and with the increasing population, there was a need to break it into smaller units. Thus, in 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by Congress, setting up the two territories as they are shown in this map of but two years later. Kansas Territory is shown with its present north and south borders, but its western border extending into present-day Colorado. The Nebraska Territory is shown reaching all the way north to Canada and as far west as the "heights" of the Rocky Mountains. The territories retained this shape from 1855 until 1861 and few were made just of these territories in this configuration.
As this region was of considerable interest at the time, Colton included an impressive amount of information. Rivers, extremely important for emigrants and settlers alike, are shown with good detail, including the upper Missouri feeders, the two branches of the Platte, and the Arkansas River. Forts, such as Laramie, Atkinson, Clark, Union and many others, are clearly delineated, and Indian tribes are named and located throughout. Of particular interest are the indications of early exploration routes and the main passes over the Rocky Mountains, including the famous South Pass. An important map of an important region in the western expansion of the United States just prior to the Civil War. $375
"Nebraska and Kanzas." New York: J.H. Colton & Co., ca. 1857. 12 3/4 x 15 3/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. Very good condition. Denver.
A slightly later edition of Colton's fine map of the Nebraska and Kansas territories. Issued without the decorative border, this map does add an indication of the Oregon Trail, passing over the South Pass. $350
"Johnson's Nebraska and Kansas." New York: Johnson & Browning, ca. 1860. 12 1/2 x 15 1/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. Very good condition. With decorative border. Denver.
In 1860, Johnson & Browning acquired the rights to the Colton atlas and began to issue their own version. They used many of the Colton lithographic stones, but often with updating. This is a fascinating example of that, for this map is very similar to the earlier Colton maps of Kansas and Nebraska territories, in the configuration they had until 1861, but it reflects new information on the Pike's Peak gold rush. This gold rush began in late 1858 and by 1859 thousands were traveling to what was then western Kansas to seek gold along the foothills of the Rockies. The tree earliest settlements in the area, in what would in the following year become Colorado, were Denver, Auraria and Montana. All three are indicated on this map, though the last is incorrectly placed to the north of the other two. In the early days of the gold rush, there were four basic routes from the cities in eastern Kansas and Nebraska, and Johnson shows all of them (with the note, e.g. "630 miles to Auraria"). While he doesn't put any label on it, the northern of the two central routes is drawn by him running almost straight from Atchison to Denver, making it look like by far the most direct route. While it was shorter than the northern and southern routes, it was one of the most dangerous and difficult, something not indicated on this map. A wonderful map of this important part of Western history. $425
A.J. Johnson. "Johnson's Iowa and Nebraska." New York: Johnson & Browning, 1861. 12 1/4 x 16 3/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. Very good condition.
A large scale map of just Iowa and Nebraska. Most of the western emigration of the time was passing further to the south, but there was some development along the Missouri River between Iowa and Nebraska, and along the Platte River. Iowa is shown well settled here, but Nebraska has counties and settlement only to the east of the 98th meridian, and that is the only part of the territory that is shown. $165
"Map of Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado Showing also The Southern portion of Dacotah." Philadelphia: S. Augustus Mitchell, Jr., 1862. 11 1/2 x 14. Lithograph. Full original color. Very good condition. Denver.
This fine map of the Plains states is from the 1862 issue of S. Augustus Mitchell Jr.'s important atlas. The map shows the territories of Kansas and Nebraska just after they were reorganized into their present borders (though they were still territories for a number of years yet). Also shown are the territory of Colorado and the southern part of "Dacotah." After the Civil War, this region was flooded with settlers, miners and others seeking new opportunities in the burgeoning American west. This map shows this area when it was the classic "Wild West" of popular lore. The eastern-most parts of Kansas and Nebraska are shown fairly well settled, and in the west are shown a few new settlements, the newly laid railroads, forts, and Indian tribes. The southern part of the "Dacotah" territory is shown and present-day Wyoming (which the year after this map was issued became part of the Idaho Territory) is noted as "Attached to Dacotah." With updated maps in most atlases, Mitchell pictured this fascinating part of American history and this is one of the more interesting snapshots. $250
"Kansas and Nebraska." New York: J.H. Colton, 1863. 25 1/4 x 16 3/4. Lithograph. Original hand-coloring. Narrow margins around decorative border, with some chipping just into border. Browning on back at one side. One tiny spot in center. Otherwise, very good condition.
A map of the eastern parts of Nebraska and Kansas issued shortly after they took on their present-day shapes. The territories of Nebraska and Kansas were created in 1854 out of the old Missouri Territory. In 1861, Kansas attained statehood, while the Nebraska Territory lost two-thirds of its land to the newly created Dakota Territory, though it still extended to the Rocky Mountains. The western parts, beyond the 104th meridian, were detached from Nebraska in 1863, thus attaining its present configuration. This map, issued about this time, shows just the eastern parts of Nebraska and Kansas, as there was almost no development in the western parts. Detail is very good of this area, with counties, towns, rivers, Indian reservations, roads and forts clearly indicated and named. Of particular interest are the depictions of the old Santa Fe trail and the "Pony Express and U.S. Mail Route," both heading west off the map. $175
"Johnson's Nebraska, Dakota, Colorado, Idaho & Kansas." New York: Johnson & Ward, 1863. 12 3/4 x 15 1/2. Lithograph. Original hand coloring. Some smudges and light waterstain in margins. Else, very good condition.
A detailed map of northern plain states (present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana). This map shows a configuration of this region which lasted only for one year. In 1863, the eastern part of Washington Territory and the western part of Dakota Territory were broken off to form the Idaho Territory, encompassing what today is Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. The next year the eastern part of this huge Idaho Territory, that shown here, was broken off to create the Montana Territory, with the southeastern part temporarily going back into the Dakota Territory. The detail in this map is most impressive, showing rivers, towns, forts, Indian tribes, and the early trails which criss-crossed this region. This map was issued during the Pike's Peak gold rush, so the four main routes to "Auroria" (which by then had merged with Denver) are shown, the distances of the northern and southern-most routes noted on the map. $250
A.J. Johnson. "Johnson's Nebraska, Dakota, Colorado, Montana & Kansas." New York: Johnson & Ward, ca. 1864. 12 1/2 x 15 1/2. Lithograph. Original hand coloring. Light stain and brittleness in lower left corner; repaired tear. Otherwise, very good condition.
Johnson's map of the configuration modified from the situation shown in the map above, depicting the area about 1864. By 1861 Kansas and Nebraska had been reorganized into their present configurations, the Dakota Territory, to the north, had the Idaho Territory broken off in 1863, comprising present-day Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. In 1864, the Montana Territory was broken off, and this map is the first version of the Johnson map to show it thusly. The detail in this map is most impressive, showing rivers, towns, forts, Indian tribes, and the early trails which criss-crossed this region. This map, issued the end of the Civil War, shows these territories just before they were filled with new settlers, miners and other speculators. $175
"Kansas and Nebraska." Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1864. Lithograph. On thin paper and folded as issues. Fragile at folds with some splitting. Denver.
A finely detailed map based on U.S. government sponsored surveys. A vital period for these two states. The public surveys are found only in the eastern half of each state. $150
A.J. Johnson. "Johnson's Iowa and Nebraska." New York: Johnson & Ward, 1864. 17 x 22 3/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. Short repaired tear into bottom. Otherwise, very good condition.
Another Johnson's map of Iowa and Nebraska, but three years later. The differences are minor, but interesting. First, Johnson makes the map a double page size and increases the part of Nebraska shown to twice the size as on the earlier map. There is little information given to this newly revealed part of the territory, except that Johnson shows the proposed route of the Pacific railroad, but the inclusion of the extended part of Nebraska clearly indicates the publisher expected this now blank part of the map to be rapidly filled in. $165
"Map Showing the progress of the Public surveys of Kansas and Nebraska . 1866." Washington: General Land Office, 1866. 23 5/8 x 33. Lithograph by Bowen & Co. Original outline color. Some typical slight wear and light browning at folds. Very good condition. Wheat: 1151. Denver.
The U.S. General Land Office (GLO) was established in 1812 with responsibility to survey and control the dispersal of public lands. All public land was required to be surveyed prior to settlement, and the first director of the GLO, Thomas Hutchins, set up a systematic process of rectangular survey for the public lands and launched the great national project to survey and map the public domain in the entire country, a procedure which got under way in the famous "seven ranges" of southeast Ohio. Each surveyor was to record not only geography, but also features of the landscape with economic import, such as roads, Indian trails, existing settlements, Indian lands, mineral deposits, and of particular interest, railroads and their rights of way. Of note is that unlike most surveys of the time, the surveyors were instructed not to apply new names to the landscape, but to use "the received names of all rivers, creeks, lakes, swamps, prairies, hills, mountains and other natural objects."
By mid-century the GLO had completed most of the surveys for the lands between the Appalachians and the Mississippi, and so focused most of its attention to the American west for the rest of the century. The GLO published mostly state maps, which were issued in annual reports, bound into state atlases, and in a few atlases that combined all the current maps in progress. These maps produced by the GLO are the most accurate and detailed maps of the U.S., based on rigorous and comprehensive surveys not hindered by commercial concerns. These maps proved very useful to private American mapmakers, and they were often the basis for state and county maps in the second part of the nineteenth century. This 1866 map shows Kansas and Nebraska five years after the former was achieved statehood and the latter was reduced to close to its present borders. The map contains lots of interesting information, especially on minerals and, as noted by Wheat, railroads in this region then undergoing considerable growth. $650
"Map of Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado Showing also The Southern portion of Dacotah." Philadelphia: S. Augustus Mitchell, Jr., 1866. 11 1/2 x 14. Lithograph. Full original color. Very good condition.
For most of the middle part of the nineteenth century, the firm founded by S. Augustus Mitchell dominated American cartography in output and influence. This fine map is from one of his son's atlases issued second half of the century. This map shows the territories of Kansas and Nebraska just a year before their statehood, along with the territories of Wyoming and Colorado. After the Civil War, this region was flooded with settlers, miners and others seeking new opportunities in the burgeoning American west. This map shows this area when it was the classic "Wild West" of popular lore. The eastern parts of Kansas and Nebraska are shown well settled, and in the west are shown new settlements, the newly laid railroads, forts, and Indian tribes. The southern part of the "Dacotah" territory is shown and present-day Wyoming is noted as "Attached to Dacotah." With updated maps in most atlases, Mitchell pictured this fascinating part of American history and this is one of the more interesting snapshots. $225
A.J. Johnson. "Johnson's Iowa and Nebraska." New York: Johnson & Ward, 1870. 17 x 22 3/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. Separations along center fold at edges. Otherwise, very good condition.
Though the copyright date is still listed as 1864, this map clearly shows greater settlement and westward movement than the edition published in that year. By 1870, settlement had extended west along the Missouri border to towns like Council Bluffs and Omaha. In the northwestern counties, around Iowa's lake region, are still sparsely populated. $150
"County Map of Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado." Philadelphia: S. Augustus Mitchell, Jr., 1870. 20 x 14 3/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. With old repairs at centerfold separation. Otherwise, very good condition.
This map shows the northern plains at a time when the railroads were opening up the region to new settlement. Completed in 1869, the transcontinental railroad ran across the center of the area shown here, from Omaha to the South Pass in western Wyoming. The railroads facilitated the movement of emigrants through and into this area--already begun by the emigration to Oregon, the California Gold Rush and Pike's Peak Gold Rush(noted on this map as "Gold Region"). This led to the creation of new states, such as Kansas (1861), Nebraska (1867), as well as territories such as Colorado, Dakota, Montana, and the just created Wyoming (1869).
This detailed map provides a good topographical picture of the region, with the rivers and mountains depicted, as are the locations of the plains Indian tribes which played such an important (and tragic) role in the opening of the west. The maps also well represents the development of this region, picturing towns, forts, roads and trails. Of particular interest is the depiction of the railroads, which are indicated sometimes following the early routes of explorers, also shown on the map. The Union Pacific Railroad, completed just the year before this map was published, is shown running through Nebraska to Cheyenne and then west, while the two railroads into Denver-one to Cheyenne to meet the Union Pacific and one directly east to Kansas City-both completed just the year this map was issued, are both shown. This is a fine map of the classic "Wild West" of popular lore. $185
"County Map Of Kansas, Nebraska, Dakota, and Minnesota." Chicago: Warner & Beers, 1872. 16 1/2 x 13 1/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. Very good condition.
An unusual map from the Warner & Beers Atlas of Whiteside Co. (IL), which contained also maps of other Illinois counties and also the H.H. Lloyd Atlas of the United States. Details in Kansas and Nebraska are quite good, showing the extensive development by the early 1870s reaching west along the rail lines, which are clearly market. Minnesota is also shown as well settled, but Dakota-not yet divided into North and South-is relatively sparsely populated except in the south eastern part. $225
"Grays Atlas. Nebraska." Philadelphia: O.W. Gray, 1873. 16 x 25 1/2. Lithograph. Original hand color. Some light staining in margins. Otherwise, very good condition. Denver.
One of the first atlas maps of just Nebraska by itself, this map was issued fairly soon after statehood in 1867. It was published by the Philadelphia firm of O.W. Gray which began its publishing around mid-century and published regional and U.S. atlases up to the 1880s, first as O.W. Gray and then O.W. Gray & Son. This map is typical of their work, presenting the latest information available with clear and precise detail. Nebraska was well settled in the eastern parts and along the Platte River, and this area is shown broken into counties with towns, roads and railroads clearly depicted. The entire northwest corner of the state, the home of many Indian tribes, is left blank except for rivers. A nice picture of the state entering the last quarter of the nineteenth century. $225
A Mitchell map of the two states as they were configured shortly after statehood and the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Kansas, through which the Pacific Railroad ran, was highly developed at this point, as can been clearly seen here. The Pacific R.R. is shown, as is the Atchison, Topeka & Sante Fe R.R., and a few others in the state, bringing considerable growth of towns, roads, and so forth. Nebraska shows the Union Pacific Railroad passing through, but development is considerably less, limited mostly to the east and south of the Platte River. An excellent early picture of these two plains states. $175
A neatly detailed map from the Philadelphia publishing firm of William M. Bradley & Bros. While Philadelphia was no longer the main center of cartographic publishing in North America by the late nineteenth century, many fine maps were still produced there, as is evidenced by this map. The burgeoning states are shown with settlement spreading west from the Missouri River, trails, roads and railroads providing the transportation nexus by which this development progressed. The southwestern corner of Kansas and northwestern corner of Nebraska are still relatively underdeveloped, but this frontier in the states is clearly dwindling. $150
A slightly later edition of the Bradley map above. The map is almost the same, except for showing new development in the two least developed parts, the southwestern corner of Kansas and northwestern corner of Nebraska. This is primarily reflected in the creation of new counties, but there is also new survey information such as the extension of rivers. $150
An early map from the Rand, McNally & Co. firm of Chicago. Impressive detail and showing much of the western part of the state that was still relatively undeveloped. $150
©The Philadelphia Print Shop, Ltd. Last updated February 23, 2012
"County & Township Map Of The States of Kansas and Nebraska." Philadelphia: W.M. Bradley & Bro., 1886. 14 x 21 1/2. Lithograph. Original hand color. Old separation along centerfold, expertly repaired. Very good condition.
"County & Township Map Of The States of Kansas and Nebraska." Philadelphia: W.M. Bradley & Bro., [1887]-1891. 14 x 21 1/2. Lithograph. Original hand color. Very good condition.
"Nebraska." Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co., ca. 1890. 19 x 26. Lithograph. Printed with color. Very good to excellent condition.
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