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Description

Massive, Detailed Wall Map of Chicago from the 1880s.

L.M. Snyder & Co.'s extremely rare lithographed folding map of Chicago, published in Chicago during its major late-19th-century real estate boom.

The map has considerable detail for its size; all streets are named, many blocks are numbered, subdivisions are labeled, railroad tracks are shown.

Most of the hand-coloring is in allotments in Lyons and around Lake Calumet.  There is a manuscript indication of a railroad extension running through the Walker's Dock Addition.

Snyder was responsible for a number of large Chicago real estate maps in the 1880s.

1880s Boom Time in Chicago

The climate of 1880s Chicago is summed up well in this entry in the Encyclopedia of Chicago History:

The most obvious change--especially in the eyes of visitors--came in the growth of the city itself. Ever since the Fire of 1871, the city seemed to be on a building spree that fueled the local economy and provided both business opportunities and jobs. The 1880 manufacturing census, for example, counted 171 carpentering establishments employing 1,792 employees. By 1890, the same census enumerated 500 establishments with 6,223 employees. New technologies generated new jobs, as the city's infrastructure simultaneously enhanced growth while expanding in response to development. In 1880, 358 employees worked for 86 Chicago plumbing and gasfitting firms. As running water, sewer connections, and gas for lighting and cooking become more common in both residential and business buildings in the 1880s, those figures jumped to 2,586 employees at 278 firms.

Condition Description
Colossal lithographed folding map, dissected in 99 sections and mounted on original linen. Some fraying of the original linen. The map was apparently compiled from several incomplete real estate wall map sheets issued by the same publisher (see more the main description for more information.) Other examples extend beyond the dimensions of the present map, however, it is not clear that this example of the map was originally made in anything other than its current format. That is to say, while the image is somewhat incomplete, this example was probably prepared for an initial buyer who had no need for the wanting sections.
Reference
Phillips, Maps, Volume 1, page 231.