Map of Alabama [in Harper’s Weekly]

Unbroken issue of Harper’s weekly that includes an 1866 map of Alabama.

This woodcut map of Reconstruction-era Alabama was published in the January 13, 1866 edition of Harper’s Weekly. A simple image labels counties, settlements, and a handful of geographic features, with railroads prominently featured. A decorative scene at the top of the sheet reflects the importance of cotton, and (now free) Black Americans, to the state’s economy. Accompanying statistics from 1860 show that nearly half the population was enslaved (435,000 of 964,000).

Also included within the issue are numerous contemporary advertisements, a fear-mongering view of Native Americans attacking a mail messenger on horseback, scenes from the London Underground, and an elaborate centerfold celebrating New York City’s Metropolitan Fire Department. The title page features a portrait of Edwin Forrest Booth, a skilled American actor (some say the best of all time) whose fame was overshadowed by the notorious exploits of his younger brother, John Wilkes Booth.