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Title: Area and Population of States and Territories
- Author: Rand McNally & Co.
- Date: 1899
- Condition: Very Good - Age related wear, remnants of previous binding
- Inches: 6 3/4 x 5 1/2 [Paper]
- Centimeters: 17.14 x 13.97 [Paper]
- Product ID: 308563
This small but detailed chart shows the area and population of U.S. states and territories from the 1820 and 1890 censuses. Two tables list land and water areas (in square miles) alongside population figures for each state and territory from each census year. In the center, a colored, funnel-shaped graphic visually compares total U.S. population growth at decade intervals from 1780 to 1840, with population numbers marked at each segment. The chart highlights the rapid increase and geographic expansion of the U.S. across the 19th century.
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.