General Land Office (GLO)
Iowa, 1866
17 ½ x 20 ½ in
44 x 52 cm
44 x 52 cm
USA9887
Diagram of the Public Surveys in Iowa An uncommon and detailed map of Iowa, issued by the General Land Office shortly after the Civil War to show the latest...
Diagram of the Public Surveys in Iowa
An uncommon and detailed map of Iowa, issued by the General Land Office shortly after the Civil War to show the latest division of the state into land parcels and the railroad land grants. Six-mile and 15-mile boundaries either side of the railroad grants are delineated, marking the land to be given to railroad companies to pay for the construction of the lines. Other railroads already in operation are also included on the map. Regions with known coal, iron, and lead deposits are also indicated.
The maps issued by the General Land Office were usually functional documents used for legal and bureaucratic purposes such as allocating land to homesteaders, the sale of property and the settlement of legal disputes. They were also used to indicate the extent of geographical knowledge of the United States and to catalogue the possible mineral resources of unsettled parts of the country.
This particular example is unusual in that it has been coloured and backed on linen. Usually General Land Office maps, due to their status as government documents, were left black and white and were printed on thin, inexpensive paper. The special treatment accorded to this example suggests it may have had some promotional function; possibly as a show piece for a retailer of the maps or as part of the collection of an ambassadorial library abroad which could be used to encourage immigration into the United States.
Original colour. Laid on linen. [USA9887]
An uncommon and detailed map of Iowa, issued by the General Land Office shortly after the Civil War to show the latest division of the state into land parcels and the railroad land grants. Six-mile and 15-mile boundaries either side of the railroad grants are delineated, marking the land to be given to railroad companies to pay for the construction of the lines. Other railroads already in operation are also included on the map. Regions with known coal, iron, and lead deposits are also indicated.
The maps issued by the General Land Office were usually functional documents used for legal and bureaucratic purposes such as allocating land to homesteaders, the sale of property and the settlement of legal disputes. They were also used to indicate the extent of geographical knowledge of the United States and to catalogue the possible mineral resources of unsettled parts of the country.
This particular example is unusual in that it has been coloured and backed on linen. Usually General Land Office maps, due to their status as government documents, were left black and white and were printed on thin, inexpensive paper. The special treatment accorded to this example suggests it may have had some promotional function; possibly as a show piece for a retailer of the maps or as part of the collection of an ambassadorial library abroad which could be used to encourage immigration into the United States.
Original colour. Laid on linen. [USA9887]
