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Description

One of the Most Significant Maps of Indiana from the Second Half of the 19th Century.

A handsome example of the Colton firm's large folding map of the State of Indiana, first issued by J.H. Colton in 1852 and published intermittently until at least 1877 by G.W. & C.B. Colton.

The map includes exceptional township and range information, cities, railroads (complete and proposed), county boundaries, etc.

The vibrant color seen in the map was characteristic of these large maps (sometimes called the "Sectional Map" series) issued by the Coltons in the 1860s and '70s.

Individual years of the map are scarce, and the map itself is difficult to find in such an attractive condition.

Provenance

Deaccessioned from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Condition Description
Folding map. Original hand-color by county. Some minor separations at fold intersections. Mounted in original cloth folder, gilt-lettered: "Colton's Sectional Map of Indiana."
G.W. & C.B. Colton Biography

G. W. & C. B. Colton was a prominent family firm of mapmakers who were leaders in the American map trade in the nineteenth century. The business was founded by Joseph Hutchins Colton (1800-1893) who bought copyrights to existing maps and oversaw their production. By the 1850s, their output had expanded to include original maps, guidebooks, atlases, and railroad maps. Joseph was succeeded by his sons, George Woolworth (1827-1901) and Charles B. Colton (1831-1916). The firm was renamed G. W. & C. B. Colton as a result. George is thought responsible for their best-known work, the General Atlas, originally published under that title in 1857. In 1898, the brothers merged their business and the firm became Colton, Ohman, & Co., which operated until 1901, when August R. Ohman took on the business alone and dropped the Colton name.