About this sheet
An original antique map of New York State from Rand McNally's 1899 indexed atlas, this double-page sheet on pages 50 and 51 runs from Lake Erie and the Niagara frontier to the Adirondacks and the Vermont line, with an inset of New York City and Long Island.
The map follows the full length of Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River, with the Mohawk and Hudson valleys carrying the state's densest settlement and rail traffic down through Albany towards the lower edge. Essex and Hamilton counties, covering the Adirondack interior, are left with markedly fewer roads and towns than the farming counties of the Genesee and Mohawk valleys, the mountainous core still substantially undeveloped in 1899, and its relief is printed in black hachuring.
The inset in the upper left enlarges the New York City metropolitan area together with Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey, showing the full length of Long Island Sound out to Montauk. An exceptionally dense numbered key to more than 160 railroad companies fills the lower margin, a fair measure of how thoroughly the railways had reached even the more rural counties of central and western New York by the end of the century. County lines are printed in red over pale tints, and a note along the foot cross-references the adjoining plates for Ontario, Quebec, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Behind the sheet stands one of the great names of American map publishing. William Rand opened a printing business in Chicago in the 1850s, Andrew McNally joined him, and by the 1890s Rand McNally was one of the leading map publishers in the United States, with a reputation built on railroad and commercial maps kept current from issue to issue.
In technique it is a lithograph printed in colour, with the black outline printed first and the pastel colours printed over it. Once framed, this antique map of New York State would suit a home or office in the state today, and it will appeal to collectors of American state maps and railroad history.
The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light, even age toning, minor handling wear to the sheet edges and the original central fold as issued. Please review the images for further condition details.
This is an original antique map, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
