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Title: Map of the Southwestern Railway System...
- Author: Rand, McNally & Co.
- Date: c. 1885
- Condition: Very Good - age toning, light wear and discoloration along issued folding, areas of surface dirt
- Inches: 39 1/2 x 24 1/2 [Paper]
- Centimeters: 100.33 x 62.23 [Paper]
- Product ID: 307016
This is a large-format, late 19th-century promotional railroad map titled "Map of the Southwestern Railway System Missouri Pacific," showing the full network of the Missouri Pacific and associated lines across the southern and central United States. The map highlights major routes connecting cities from the Midwest to Texas and the Gulf Coast, as well as important branch lines extending throughout the region. Detailed insets and illustrations showcase scenes along the railway, providing both geographic and visual context for travelers and investors of the era.
The verso features rich illustrated content introducing travelers and settlers to the landscapes, cities, and resources of Texas and northern Mexico. It has a mixture of descriptive articles and engravings highlighting destinations such as Austin, San Antonio, Galveston, and Weatherford, as well as broader topics like farming, cattle ranching, commerce, and tourism in the region. The layout includes travel narratives, resource overviews, and practical information for new arrivals, all designed to attract settlers and investors to areas served by the Missouri Pacific and Iron Mountain rail lines.
Background on Creator
In 1856, William H. Rand opened a Chicago print shop, hiring Irish immigrant Andrew McNally as a printer two years later. They established a relationship with the Chicago Tribune’s predecessor, soon taking over its printing operation in full. Eventually, in 1868 Rand, McNally, and Rand’s nephew George Amos Poole bought out the Tribune and founded Rand, McNally & Co. Now with significant printing experience under their belt, the three men embarked on several publishing endeavors, capitalizing on the massive success of Chicago’s railroad industry by printing tickets, timetables, and railroad guides. Rand, McNally & Co.’s cartographic enterprise began as an offshoot of their existing publishing business; it was not until 1872 that the company printed its first map, a wax engraving that appeared in the company’s December Railroad Guide. Thanks to the low cost and ease of production associated with wax engravings, the firm quickly became the largest commercial publisher in the United States and to this day continues to produce quality atlases, maps, and globes.