1931 Obrion Russell Cyanotype Map of Mt. Katahdin, Maine

Building the Appalachian Trail in Maine.

This is a scarce c. 1931 cyanotype map of the Mt. Katahdin region, now part of Baxter State Park, in Maine, produced for the insurance firm Obrion, Russell, and Company. Focusing on the summer camp of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the map is among the earliest produced during the planning stages of the Appalachian Trail and among the first to name the trail, the northern terminus of which is at Mt. Katahdin.

A Closer Look

The map presents a portion of what is now Baxter State Park and nearby lands between 'Turner Mt.' (South Turner Mountain) and 'North Peak' (Hamlin Peak) at top and the Debsconeag Deadwater and Millinocket Lake at bottom. Waterways, including lakes, ponds, rivers, brooks, and streams, are labeled throughout, while elevation is shown with hachure lines, and peaks are named. Roads (mostly used for logging purposes) and hiking trails are also recorded; the Katahdin Trail at left is now the northernmost part of the Appalachian Trail, a particularly challenging stretch, especially for thru hikers who have roughed 2,200 miles of trail starting in Georgia. Camps and other locations (including those used for delineating survey lines, the meaning of the 'T3 R-9' in the map's title) are also indicated.

North of Mt. Katahdin, near the Basin Chimney Pond, the Appalachian Trail is named, an early use of the term on a map. Today, this trail is actually not part of the Appalachian Trail but instead the Cathedral Trail / Chimney Pond Trail, showing the evolving nature of the A.T. in this early stage (the Cathedral Trail does however link with today's A.T. at the summit of Mt. Katahdin).

Start of the Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail originated in the 1920s as part of a visionary plan to create a continuous wilderness footpath spanning the eastern United States. The trail was conceived by forester Benton MacKaye (1879 - 1975), who proposed the idea in 1921 as both a recreational and conservation project. The concept quickly gained traction through the Appalachian Trail Conference (1925), which coordinated local trail clubs and volunteers to build segments linking existing paths along the Appalachian Mountains. Construction began in earnest in the late 1920s. By the early 1930s, volunteer crews in Maine had blazed the initial routes leading to Katahdin, designated the northern terminus, through the forests of Baxter State Park. The full trail was officially completed in 1937, stretching over 2,000 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Mount Katahdin, Maine, marking the culmination of over a decade of grassroots effort and the beginning of what would become one of America's most iconic long-distance hiking trails.

The Appalachian Mountain Club

The Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the oldest outdoor recreation and conservation organizations in the United States. The organization was founded in 1876 in Boston by a group of avid mountaineers, including the astronomer Edward Charles Pickering (1846 - 1919). One of the organization's first objectives was to map the mountains of New England, and particularly the White Mountains. The year after this map's publication (1888), the AMC opened its first mountain hut (Madison Spring Hut) near Mt. Madison, providing weary hikers a place to rest or sleep overnight. (It has since been renovated and rebuilt several times). In 1895, the AMC made its first purchase of land, protecting 36 acres along Snyder Brook from logging operations (land later incorporated into the White Mountain National Forest). In 1907, it published the first edition of its guide (Appalachian Mountain Club White Mountain Guide), which has since been used as an essential resource by many thousands of hikers. Ever since, the AMC has been an instrumental part of hiking in the White Mountains, building many more huts, marking and maintaining trails, and producing fantastic maps.

Cyanotype: Why so Blue?

Cyanotype is a photo-reprographic technique developed in 1842 by the British astronomer John Herschel (1792 - 1871). Sometimes called a 'sunprint', the technique employs a solution of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, which painted on white paper or cloth, reacts when exposed to sunlight to dye the object a brilliant blue. Areas blocked from ultraviolet exposure remain undyed and white. Herschel developed the technique to reproduce his astronomical notes, but others quickly realized that any object capable of blocking light could be used to create a cyanotype image quickly and easily. By the late 19th century, the process became popular with designers, the military, architects, and engineers (blueprints), who used the cheap and effective technique to quickly and exactly reproduce images in the field. Cyanotyping is limited in that only a single copy can be made at one time, so it was only practical for short-term field work. It is also of note that cyanotypes remain extremely reactive to light and, over time, fade or degrade, making them extremely ephemeral. The process fell out of fashion in most places by the 1920s but remains in use in some parts of the world, such as India and Nepal, to this day.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by engineer Clinton L. Bancroft, head of the fire insurance underwriting department at the firm Obrion, Russell, and Company, based in Boston. Its exact purpose is unclear; Obrion, Russell, and Co. was an insurance underwriting firm, but the word 'presented' in the subtitle suggests that the firm financed or gifted the production of the map. There are a couple of mentions of Clinton L. Bancroft in the hiking and outdoors periodical Appalachia from the early 20th century, suggesting he was an active hiking enthusiast, which may explain the connection.

The map is undated but likely was produced in the very early 1930s, as the earliest portions of the A.T. in Maine were designated around Mt. Katahdin after Mainer Myron Avery (1899 - 1952) became chairman of the Appalachian Trail Conference in 1931. We are only aware of one other example of the map, held as part of the John Wiley Appalachian Trail Collection at the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History (Smithsonian Institution).

Condition

Very good. Slight wear on old fold lines. Cyanotype.

References

Smithsonian Institution NMAH.AC.1194.