Antique Chicago Map Wall Art – Railroads, Lake Michigan & City Grid, ca.1888

€ 260

Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)

Date: 1888
Sheet size: 36 × 27 cm (14.2 × 10.6 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-12794-79

What the condition grades mean

Excellent: Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good: Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good: Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair: Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.

Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.

Condition

Light age toning consistent with age. Minor edge wear and small handling marks from original atlas binding. Overall clean and well preserved.

About this sheet

Chicago and its rail network on a page of Rand, McNally and Co.'s atlas, lettered "Rand, McNally & Co.'s Illinois" and numbered 325, c.1888. The map is printed in black.

The city is drawn from the lakefront at the right to the western suburbs, with Lake Michigan lettered along the shore and the divisions named in large capitals: Lake View, Jefferson, Cicero, Lake, Hyde Park and Worth. Heavy lines of railroads converge on the center, with the names of the companies engraved along each line and belt line connections marked at the south and west. At the upper right an inset gives an enlarged plan of the central part of the city, with a key distinguishing passenger depots from freight depots. A park lies at the lakefront at the lower right.

The map documents Chicago in the 1880s as the main rail center of the Middle West, where the lines from the East met those from the western plains.