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A scarce and visually compelling promotional map of California, issued at a pivotal moment in the state's transformation into the agricultural heartland of the American West. Published by the H. S. Crocker Company of San Francisco, the map offers a richly detailed rendering of the state, combining precise survey-based geography with vivid chromolithographic vignettes that celebrate California’s horticultural abundance.
County boundaries are delineated over a finely rendered base that includes township and range divisions, an intricate network of railroads and roads, and detailed topographic features. Southern California is shown with Orange County (established 1889), but without Riverside County (organized May 1893), confirming the plate’s currency to the year of publication. Coastal islands from San Miguel to San Clemente are rendered with care, and the extensive irrigation works of the Central Valley and desert interior are clearly noted.
The map’s most distinctive feature is the upper right corner panel, adorned with a sweeping composition of photo-engraved vignettes. Framed by the gnarled branches of a live oak tree, these scenes present California as a cultivated paradise: almond orchards in bloom, vineyards spreading across valley hills, citrus groves heavy with fruit, palms and flowering shrubs in bloom, and a secluded stream in the Coast Range. The images show the prevailing narrative of California as a land of climatic and agricultural promise, ideally suited for migration, investment, and intensive cultivation.
Printed by Crocker at their Bush Street lithographic works, the map reflects the firm’s dual roles as cartographic publisher and advertising house.
![A New & Accurate Map of Mexico or New Spain together with California New Mexico &c. [Inset map of the Galapagos Islands]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/113447.jpg)
