1898 Matthews Northrup Folding Map of the Plant System, Florida and Caribbean

Height of the Railway Age in the Southeast.

This is a scarce c. 1898 folding map of Florida and environs prepared by the firm Matthews Northrup for the Plant System of railroads and steamships. It presents the Plant System near its greatest extent, not long before it was acquired by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902.

A Closer Look

The map covers most of the eastern seaboard of the United States, with particular focus on Georgia, Florida, and southwards to Cuba and Central America, the main area of operations for the Plant System of railroad and steamship lines, which are traced in red. Steamship lines of the Plant System connect to Mobile, Key West, Havana, Montego Bay, and Puerto Cortez in Honduras. Tables at right give the total mileage of the various subsidiaries of the Plant System, including the People's Line, which cut a straight line from Columbus, Georgia, to Apalachicola, Florida, along the Chattahoochee, Flint, and Apalachicola Rivers. One curious inclusion is the Canada Atlantic and Plant Steamship Line, which operated between Boston and ports in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, but also tied into the Plant System, offering wintertime cruises from New England to Florida and the Caribbean. Other railway and steamship lines are traced in black and labelled, connecting to destinations as far away as New Orleans, Baltimore, Boston, and New York.

This period saw both great expansion and consolidation of railways in the Southern U.S., and many of these companies would be merged in the following years. At this time, the Plant System was in a commanding position in southern Georgia and much of Florida, and in 1899, it would acquire the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway, further expanding its reach in the Sunshine State.

The Plant System

The Plant System, named after its owner, Henry B. Plant (1819 - 1899), was a network of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. Southeast. The system was based upon the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway, running across southern Georgia. The Plant Investment Company was formed in 1882. It grew coverage by leasing or buying other railroads, among them the Charleston Railroad and the Brunswick and Western Railroad. It also began acquiring steamship lines, extending coverage from Tampa to Cuba, Key West, and other points. In its later years, the Plant system was in competition with Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. It was taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902.

Publication History and Census

This map was issued by the Buffalo firm Matthews Northrup on behalf of the Plant System. Although undated, we can loosely assign a date of c. 1898 based upon the level of development the Plant System exhibits, including the route to Montego Bay in Jamaica, which suggests a date in the late 1890s, but lacking the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway, which the Plant System acquired in 1899. The map cannot be later than 1902, when the Plant System was absorbed by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The Plant System commissioned numerous maps with roughly the same title between 1890 and 1901, but most are very different in terms of scope, design, and content. One map held by the University of Michigan (OCLC 1458352520) and another held by the Touchton Map Library at the Tampa Bay History Center (L2009.093.021), dated 1898 and 1899, respectively, have the same cover image of three Black boys sitting on a box, but the maps themselves are quite different than the present map in size and presentation. We can trace no other examples of this particular edition.

Cartographer

Matthews-Northrup Works (fl. c. 1895 - 1930) were a Buffalo, New York based, in their own words, "writing, designing, engraving, printing, [and] binding" firm. The firm was founded by James Newson Matthews (November 21, 1828 - December 20, 1888) as the J. N. Matthews Company. William Phelps Northrup (April 2, 1850 - February 2, 1929) later joined the company as an apprentice and then partner, at which point the firm was reincorporated as the Matthews-Northrup Works. The Matthews-Northrup Works rose to prominence as publishers and printers of railroad maps, with dozens to their credit. When James died, his shares were inhered by George Edward Matthews (1855 - 1910), who ran the business until his death in 1910. Also in 1910, they famously redesigned the cover of National Geographic Magazine. Despite some six previous cover changes in just 21 years, the Matthews-Northrup layout proved so popular that it was used for nearly 50 years. The firm can also take credit for the Winchell typeface, designed in 1903 under E. E. Winchell's tenure as art director. Curiously, the partners of Matthews-Northrup maintained an unusual affectation in which only the officers of the company could wear beards or mustaches. In this same spirit, the firm also had its own private social club, the Fellowcraft Club, where the all-male employees could relax, play pool, drink and dine. Matthews-Northrup maintained offices on Washington Street, Buffalo, where they were based, as well as Madison Square, New York City, Garden Tower, Boston, and the Citizens Building in Cleveland.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good.