Colton's Map of the New York Wilderness

Single sheet (29 4/8 x 29 inches). 15-pages text. Fine lithographed map with original hand-colour in full, surrounded by an elaborate border of scallop shells and acanthus leaves. Original publisher's black cloth, gilt. "The New York Wilderness embraces a large part of the northern portion of the State - being about seventy-five miles in extent from east to west and from north to south. The southern portion of Clinton, Franklin, and St. Lawrence Counties, nearly all of the Hamilton and Warren Counties, and parts of Essex, Herkimer, and Lewis Counties are comprised in this territory. The wild and rugged character of the Wilderness, the grandeur of its mountain scenery, the beauty of its lakes, rivers, and forests, have made it one of the most popular resorts in our country; while invalids bear favorable testimony to the efficacy of its pure, bracing air, and the excitements incident to travel and life in the woods" (pages [1] -3). Joseph Hutchins Colton had begun publishing maps in New York in the 1830s. Between 1831 and 1890, the Colton firm dominated American map publishing, although Colton had no formal training in geography or cartography; he began by purchasing copyrights of maps prepared by other individuals or companies, and his principal role was to manage the production and distribution of the maps. His first maps were drawn by the esteemed cartographer David H. Burr in the 1830s. By the 1850s Colton was also publishing guidebooks, atlases and immigrant and railroad maps. The firm was renamed G.W. & C.B. Colton in the 1860s when Colton was succeeded by his sons, George and Charles.…