Colton: 1889
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Map of the Country Thirty Three Miles Around |
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Interesting circular map of the New York City metropolitan area at the turn of the century. Includes New York City, Parts of Westchester, Rockland, New Jersey. Table of explanations indicates Counties, Townships, Cities, Post Offices, Settlements and Neighborhoods, Roads, Canals, Telegraph lines, Mills and Factories, Railroads, and Projected Railroads. Roadways also have distances in miles. Water depth in harbor indicated. Vignette views of the city halls of New York and Brooklyn in each of the bottom spandrels, together with Aesthetic Movement foliate design in all four spandrels.
Between 1831 and 1890, the Colton firm dominated American map publishing and their atlases were the finest produced in the U.S. during the 19th century. The company was founded by Joseph H. Colton, who had no formal training in geography or cartography; his principal role was to manage the production and distribution of the maps. He began by publishing maps drawn by David H. Burr in the 1830s. The firm was renamed G.W. & C.B. Colton in the 1860s when Colton was succeeded by his sons -- George Woolworth Colton (1827-1901) and Charles B. Colton (c. 1831-1916). It is believed that George Colton compiled the company's 1855 Atlas of the World and served thereafter as the firm's principal map compiler, cartographer and engraver.
The company continued to publish maps and atlases until 1892. Whether they were bought out or simply ceased production at that point is not known. According to map historian Walter W. Ristow: "At that date, wax engraving had been adopted as a reproduction medium by most of the large American cartographic publishers. Having built their business on engraving and lithography, the Coltons were apparently unwilling to reorganize it."
Full publication information: G.W. & C.B. Colton & Co., 182 William Street, New York.
References:
Cohen, Paul E. and Augustyn, Robert T. Manhattan in Maps: 1527-1995. New York: Rizzoli, 1997. p. 120.
Ristow, Walter W. American Maps & Mapmakers: Commercial Cartography in the 19th Century. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1985. pp. 325, 327.