Cram’s Railroad & Township Map of California

Description

Rare early railroad map of California, published by George Cram in Chicago, with a fine detailed map of Nevada on the verso (21 x 15 inches).

This map is the third in a series of variants following the 1875 Cram’s Rail Road and Township Map of California. In 1876, Cram seems to have issued an oversized set of his western railroad maps in pocket map format and also bound up a set of the maps in an unusual oversized atlas of wall maps.

This 1879 edition has been significantly updated with additional railroad lines, most notably in Southern California. Whereas in 1876 Cram showed only a line from Los Angeles to the Harbor at San Pedro, this 1879 edition shows a number of lines traversing Southern California, including one extending from Los Angeles toward the Yuma area and a second line to San Diego, along with 3 local lines in Los Angeles County.

Cram’s large format map of California includes state surveys, railroads, towns, mountains, lakes, rivers, mines, roads and a host of other details. The map includes a detailed treatment of the nascent railroad system within California and is one of the most detailed and accurate large format maps of the period.

Cram’s map of Nevada is of equal note, providing the most detailed atlas map of Nevada published in the 19th Century. The map shows railroad lines, early towns, counties, mining districts, mountains, rivers and other details.