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1908 Berthrong / Bond Map of the United States w/ Roads and Exploration
UnitedStatesExploration-berthrong-1908$950.00
Title
United States Showing Routes of Principal Explorers and Early Roads and Highways.
1908 (dated) 23.75 x 32.5 in (60.325 x 82.55 cm) 1 : 6000000
1908 (dated) 23.75 x 32.5 in (60.325 x 82.55 cm) 1 : 6000000
Description
A most fascinating work, this is the 1908 edition of the Berthrong / Bond map of the United States, showing exploratory routes and improved roads.
A Closer Look
The base map is a reduction of the General Land Office map of the United States issued annually from 1899 to illustrate the progress of the Public Surveys effort. That map has here been overlayed with color-coded routes illustrating the most prominent explorations from the 1500s through the mid-19th century. In addition, it shows important roads then being built or improved, including the National Highway, Braddock Road, and the Great Trail. The map illustrates the current state of geographical knowledge and underscores the fact that - by 1907, little was left unexplored.The National Road
The National Road, begun in 1811 and completed in 1837, was the first major improved highway in the United States. The road is also known as the Cumberland Turnpike, the Cumberland–Brownsville Turnpike (or Road or Pike), the Cumberland Pike, the National Pike, and the National Turnpike. Illustrated here by a dotted red line, the National Road connected the Ohio and Potomac Rivers, and stretched from Cumberland, Maryland to the Illinois-Ohio border. Construction ended when federal funding dried up due to the Panic of 1837.Braddock Road
The Braddock Road was opened by the Ohio Company in 1751 and ran from Fort Cumberland, the limit of navigation on the upper Potomac River, to the French military station at Fort Duquesne (Pittsburg) at the forks of the Ohio. It received its name during the colonial-era French and Indian War (1753 - 1763), when it was improved by British General Edward Braddock. (Braddock was accompanied by Virginia Militia Colonel George Washington on the disastrous 1755 Braddock Expedition's assault on French-held Fort Duquesne.)Publication History and Census
This map was issued by the Department of the Interior General Land Office (GLO) in 1908. The data was compiled by Frank Bond, and it was drafted by Ithamar Parsons Berthrong. The base map was reduced by M. Hendges. It was lithographed in Baltimore, Maryland, by Lord Baltimore Press. One previous edition was published, and at least two subsequent editions followed, with the last known edition, the fourth, appearing in 1937. We note eleven examples of the present 1908 edition cataloged in OCLC.CartographerS
Ithamar Parsons Berthrong (February 26, 1853 - July 29, 1936) was an American surveyor, inventor, and draftsman active with the General Land Office of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Berthrong was born in Rochester, New York. He was made chief of the drafting division on March 23 of 1907. He is associated with many of the most important early 20th century maps issued by the GLO, among them, important maps of Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, and more. More by this mapmaker...
Frank Bond (1856 - 1940) was an American cartographer, draftsman, surveyor, illustrator, and politician. Born in rural Jones County, Iowa, Bond graduated from the University of Iowa. In 1772, he moved to Cheyenne Wyoming, where he worked for the Wyoming Surveyor-General's Office and later the General Land Office as a draftsman. He left this position to edit the Cheyenne Tribute and engage in local politics. Bond was elected as a member of the first Wyoming legislature. In 1900, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he held the positions of Chief of the Drafting Division and Chief Clerk at the General Land Office. While at the Land Office, Bond helped determine the borders of Yosemite National Park . As a skilled mapmaker and illustrator, Bond created numerous maps. He was also an active illustrator, painter and ornithologist, creating and preserving bird refuges throughout the country. He had a twin brother, Fred Bond, was also an important surveyor and draftsman. Learn More...
The General Land Office (GLO) (1812 - 1946) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. Created in 1812, it took over functions previously conducted by the Department of the Treasury. The GLO oversaw the surveying, platting, and sale of public lands in the western United States. It also administered the Preemption Act of 1841, which allowed individuals who were already living on federal land to purchase up to 160 acres of land before it was offered for sale to the general public, if they met certain requirements. Following the passage of the Homestead Act in 1862, which was also administered by the GLO, claims under the Preemption Act sharply decreased. The GLO became a part of the newly-created Department of the Interior in 1849. In 1891 Grover Cleveland and Congress created 17 forest reserves, due to public concern over forest conservation, which were initially managed by the GLO, until they were transferred to the Forest Service in 1905. In 1946 the Government Land Office was merged with the United States Grazing Service to become the Bureau of Land Management. Today the Bureau of Land Management administers the roughly 246 million acres of public land remaining under federal ownership. Learn More...
Condition
Very good. Light wear along original fold lines. Minor margin tears professionally repaired on verso. Slight loss at a few fold intersections.
References
OCLC 228703639, 166636096, 1050129882, 946067605.