Phew – that’s quite the title, but what an amazing map!

Using a sort of azimuthal projection, it places Columbus seemingly at the centre of the world, with a “horizon” of 70 miles in all directions. Towns, natural resources and the many and varied railroads of the time all radiate out from this mighty epicentre in great detail, receding into the distance as the scale diminishes on the outer edges. Clever use of a limited colour palette – just black, gold and blue – helps to create a sense of depth, with subtle shading and the blue outer edges creating a very convincing effect. Of course, the main interest for me are the rail lines, with both steam and electric lines criss-crossing the landscape to distant points.

Our rating: A unique perspective, executed wonderfully. I’ve not seen many maps like this, and this is one of the finest examples I have. Four stars!

Prints of this map are now available in the Transit Maps store!

Source: UConn Archives