Map of the North West from Explorations by the United States Engineers & Royal Engineers of England [with] The Seat of Empire

First edition of Carleton’s travel volume of the west with a magnificent folding map.

This magnificent map of the upper portion of the United States and southern Canada was included in a travel volume promoting the route of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The immediate popularity of the first Transcontinental Railroad, completed the year prior to publication and seen running near the bottom of the sheet, prompted construction on the second, which began in 1870.

The proposed route can be seen in full, running between Seattle, Washington and Ashland, Wisconsin (though the company headquarters were in Duluth). To assist in financing construction, the Northern Pacific was given nearly 40 million acres in federal land grants, the sale of which was encouraged by the publication of maps and travel volumes like this one.

In addition to detailing the expanding rail network across the U.S. and Canada, the image also includes promising annotations such as ‘wide & fertile valley, well timbered’ and the ready availability of coal in particular areas. Lines of mean annual temperatures (dubious from the perspective of someone who lives in Chicago) also reflect a promising climate.