The American Union Railroad Map of the United States

Complete title: The American Union Railroad Map of the United States, British possessions, West Indies, Mexico and Central America British possessions, West Indies, Mexico and Central America.

Rare early state of Haasis & Lubrecht's very decorative map of the continental United States commemorating its railroad.

This large map stretches from the British possession at the time in the north till Yucatan and Mexico in the south; and from the west continental coast till the eastern coast, as well as including Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and Dominica. Thus including the United States of America, parts of Canada and Mexico, the Mexican Gulf, the Bahama Islands... Very detailed it indicates drainage, international and state boundaries, cities and towns, forts, canals, stage roads, railroads, and proposed railroads.

The map is enriched with text blocks on its left and right borders, the texts give general information about the US, its presidents, states and population statistics. The top border features a beautiful full-color panoramic view of the United States entitled "From the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean". It depicts a view from New York City to San Francisco Bay showing the railroad tracks with trains traveling along with recognizable landmarks such as the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. Two insets are included towards the bottom left corner, a map of Central America and a time and distance table between Washington and the principal places in North and Central America. The title in presented in a large elegant title cartouche illustrated by a lively scene of a platform where people are boarding a train. The waters on the map are decorate by numerous sailing boats.

This map was made based on the Lubrecht and Rosa map "The American Continent" published in 1864. The later includes statical information near the top boarder which is replaced here by the panoramic view and the title cartouche doesn't include an illustration. Darius L. Guernsey published editions of 1871 and 1874 in Concord New Hampshire, with no major changes in the map. Copies of this map have been recorded in American libraries, a 1872 edition is found at the Library of Congress and is included in its bibliography of original 19th-century railroad maps compiled by Andrew Modelski. A second state of the 1783 edition is found at the University of Yale. The present example is an early state of the 1783 edition distinguished from others since later states include Yellowstone National Park nested between Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Modelski [53]