1875 Stoner Bird's-Eye View Map of Jefferson County, Wisconsin

Rare bird's eye view of Jefferson, Wisconsin.

This is a beautiful 1880 bird’s eye view of the city of Jefferson County, Wisconsin by Henry Wellge. The view depicts Jefferson from the east, looking westward, with the Rock River flowing in the center of the view. The Crawfish River is seen on the left of the view. Some 36 civil buildings, hotels, schools, banks, factories, churches, and businesses are identified with a numeric key at the base of the map. Individual streets are identified and trees, carriages, people, houses, and buildings are drawn in profile with exceptional detail. The railway line with trains is also depicted.

This view was drawn by Henry Wellge and published by J. J. Stoner. It was printed by Beck & Pauli Lithographers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Today is view is a rare find.

Cartographer

Joseph John Stoner (December 21, 1829 - May 1917) was a Madison, Wisconsin based publisher of bird's-eye city views active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Stoner was born in Highspire, Pennsylvania and apprenticed as a carver of ornamental chairs before turning to publishing. He partnered with the bookseller Ephraim T. Kellogg of Madison, Wisconsin, for whom he was a traveling agent. His career in views began around 1867 when he met and befriended the bird's-eye view artist Albert Ruger, who was sketching Madison that year. Ruger and Stoner partnered and began publishing city views under the imprint 'Ruger & Stoner.' The partners traveled extensively through the Midwest publishing some 11 city views under their joint imprint - although there may be as many as 62 others unattributed. The partnership partially dissolved in 1872 although they continued to work together on a contractual basis. Stoner subsequently traveled even more extensively, hiring young artists to sketch city views in such wide ranging destinations as Texas, Maine, and Oregon, among others. He produced a total of some 314 views with various artists including: Albert Ruger, Herman Brosius, Thaddeus M. Fowler, Augustus Koch, Albert F. Poole, Henry Wellge, Joseph Warner, and Camille N. Drie (Dry). Stoner died in Berkeley, California in 1917.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Minor spotting, else clean.