Joseph Hutchins Colton (1800–1893). Colton’s County and Township Map of the States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri. With Parts of Indiana, Michigan, Kansas and Nebraska, (New York: J. H. Colton,1864). Lithographed pocket map with original full hand color. 35 3/4 x 27 ½ in. at neatline. Sheet: 37 1/2 x 29 in. Issued folding. Presented with original booklet with brown cloth boards and embossed design gilt titling. Map has strong impression, generally clean and crisp; some minor toning at folds; a few spots, upper right; some minor separations at fold intersections, professionally repaired. Booklet has some wear to boards; front pastedown has pencil signature and notes, and stamped: Collected by Sidney S. Wilson, Willoughby, Ohio. Very fine condition for the map. $2,800.
$2,800.00
Very Rare Pocket Map of the Western Great Lakes Region
This large map shows the region of the western Great Lakes during the Civil War period and effectively documents settlement of the region at the time. Colton’s pocket map includes a high level of detail that is only obtainable in this format. Details include cities, towns, missions, post offices, mills, roads, and railroads. The concentration of these features, along with the patterns of individually colored counties and survey grids present a graphic depiction of U.S. movement west, with settlement beyond the Missouri River just beginning in Kansas and Nebraska. Early county configurations and place names also provide special interest.
Overall, this map illustrates the northwestern frontier just prior to the great expansion that would follow the Civil War. Dakota appears undivided (into North and South) and unsurveyed (lacking range and township grids), but waterways and lakes are detailed and the proposed route of the Northern Pacific Railroad is indicated. The northern parts of Minnesota also remain unsurveyed and include an area collectively labeled “Chippew[a]” that encompasses the counties of St. Louis and Itasca. And, while the southern part of Wisconsin is well developed with many towns and railroads, the large proto-county of Marathon in the north is only partially surveyed. The light dotted lines in this area represent early trails, such as that from Ironton to Steven’s Point (est. 1836).
The Colton Company was one of the most important American commercial map firms of the nineteenth century. Joseph H. Colton founded the company around 1831. His son George Woolworth Colton later joined the company, and Colton’s Atlas of the World was the first publication to bear George’s name, probably signifying that he managed the project, and perhaps indicating that it was his idea to publish a world atlas. Joseph had for years specialized in the publication of pocket maps, wall maps, and traveler’s guides. In producing the atlas, the Coltons discovered a publishing advantage by transferring steel-plate engravings to lithographic stones or zinc plates, thereby ensuring larger runs and the best quality for their publications. Their 1855 atlas debuted as a sumptuous publication and one of the most accurate of the period, with each state and country separately mapped and extensively described in a full page of text. This expensive large-format production was discontinued after two editions, and by 1857 a more affordable and popular version took its place. Joseph Colton’s sons George Woolworth Colton (1827–1901) and Charles B. Colton (1832–1916) continued its successful operation after their father’s retirement, publishing under the company name of G.W. and C.B. Colton & Co. The present map reveals the culminating expertise of the Colton Company—a fine example of the mapmaker’s art.
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