General Land Office (GLO)
Florida, 1866
24 x 25 in
61 x 63 cm
61 x 63 cm
USA9894
Map of the State of Florida Showing the Progress of the Surveys An uncommon and detailed map of Florida issued by the General Land Office shortly after the Civil...
Map of the State of Florida Showing the Progress of the Surveys
An uncommon and detailed map of Florida issued by the General Land Office shortly after the Civil War to show the latest division of the state into land parcels. The state's earliest railroads are shown in the north. Tampa is the southernmost settlement at this time, with only a few isolated forts marked on the map in southern Florida. Fort Dallas can be seen on the site of modern-day Miami and Key West's Fort Taylor is also noted.
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. [USA9894]
An uncommon and detailed map of Florida issued by the General Land Office shortly after the Civil War to show the latest division of the state into land parcels. The state's earliest railroads are shown in the north. Tampa is the southernmost settlement at this time, with only a few isolated forts marked on the map in southern Florida. Fort Dallas can be seen on the site of modern-day Miami and Key West's Fort Taylor is also noted.
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. [USA9894]
