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Description

Detailed Antique Map of Kansas City from 1888 with Contemporary Annotations

Separately-published antique map of Kansas City printed in Kansas City in 1888.

The map provides excellent coverage of the streets and railways of Kansas City at the time. It is hand-colored by subdivision, with the divisions labeled.  The street car lines are prominently located.  The map depicts Kansas City in its "Cow Town" / "Crossroads of the Country" era when it served as a major trans-shipment point for the agricultural goods of the Plains and Texas to make their way to Chicago and points farther east. 

The growth in the town in just 4 years can be seen in the comparison with Wright's map of 1884: https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/81363.  It is also noteworthy that Wright move publication of the map from Chicago to Kansas City in this 4 year window.

At the top, a pencil note highlights the location of a Factory in Old Town, which was apparently "2 miles from Hotel."

HT Wright's 1882, 1884 and 1888 maps of Kansas City are generally regarded as the earliest printed maps of Kansas City. However, they are pre-dated by the 1871 Karwiese map entitled  Kansas City, Mo., and Wyandott, Kas., Lo- cated in the Geographic Centre of the United States. . . . 

Rarity

While Wright's 1882 and 1884 map appear on the market occasionally, this 1888 edition is recorded in a single example at New York Public Library.

Condition Description
Folding covers, with 28 pages of text.
Reference
Michael Heaston, The Kansas Pocket Map, the Cartographer's Orphan, The Yale University Library GazetteVol. 54, No. 4 (April 1980)