Map of the Business Portion of Chicago [Title on Cover]

Uncommon cartographic advertising from the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.

Unusually for such items produced during the fair, this map of Chicago does not emphasize the grounds of the 1893 Columbian Exposition held in Jackson Park. Instead, it focuses on the commercial district known today as the Loop, and shows transportation options to both the fairgrounds and Lincoln Park. Over fifty buildings are outlined and identified within Chicago Avenue, Jefferson Street, 22nd Street, and the lakefront.

The map, printed in Buffalo by the G.H. Dunston Company, was issued by the Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner Company as a promotional item for the throngs of tourists crowding the city. A view in the lower left shows the company headquarters, completed in 1882 and prominently noted near the top of the map (still standing at 130 S. Jefferson as the Glessner Center). Several advertisements and promotional text for farm implements sold by the firm can be seen on the verso, while associated manufactories are shown on the cover to impress the viewer with their grand scale.