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The Largest Mexican Railroad and Post Map of the 19th Century

Extremely rare Railroad, Post Route and Telegraph Map of Mexico, published by the Bureau of the American Republics.

The map provides perhaps the single most comprehensive treatment of Mexican Railroad, Post and Telegraph lines (including those extending into the US) available at the end of the 19th Century. The Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Volume 38 , 1906, notes as follows:\

A general map of some interest is that entitled Carta de Comunicaciones de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, on the scale of 1:1,000,000, or 15.8 m. = 1 in., compiled by Colonel Bodo von Glumer and published in 1895-6 by the Secretaria de Estado. It corresponds to our U. S. post-route maps, and shows mail routes and telegraph and telephone lines.

In Volume 9 of the Monthly Bulletin of the Bureau of the American Republics , July-December 1900, the following description of a map being prepared by the Bureau appears, which includes reference to our map (#6 Below).

NEW MAP OF MEXICO.

The Bureau of the American Republics will shortly publish a map of the United Mexican States, compiled from official and other sources, and giving information only found scattered about in a number of special maps not accessible to the general public. The map, which is on a scale of 50 miles to the inch, besides the physical and political geography of Mexico, indicates all the mining districts with the nature of the mines worked, the roadways and railways, telegraph lines, principal areas of culture, and other data of general interest. The principal authorities used in its compilation are:

(1) United States Navy hydrographic charts.

(2) Official map of Sonora, by C. E. Herbert. 1885.

(3) Carta General de la Republica Mexicana, formada en el Ministerio de Fomento. 1890.

(4) Carta Minera de la Republica Mexicana, fundada por disposition del Secretario de Fomento. 1893.

(5) Carta General del Estado de San Luis Potosi. 1894.

(6) Carta de Comunicaciones de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, 1895, 1896, 1899.

(7) Carta Geogratica General de la Republica Mexicana.

The map is very rare. OCLC locates 4 examples (Bancroft, Penn State, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at Austin). The Library of Congress also holds a copy.