120. [MAP]. RAILROAD. NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY. Sectional Map Showing the Lands of Northern Pacific Railroad Co. in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, with Condensed Information Relating to the Northern Pacific Country [lithograph map on verso] Map Showing Land Grant of the Northern Pacific Railroad Co. in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. Corrected up to January 1, 1886 [inset at upper left] Map Showing Northern Pacific Railroad System. Buffalo: Matthews, Northrup & Co., 1886. [8] pp., folio (44.7 x 34.5 cm), unfolding to 67.3 x 87 cm. Folded as issued. Separation along one horizontal fold with moderate loss to text and map. Nevertheless an uncommon survival.

            The text praises the area in the highest terms, treating such topics as climate, health, productions, and minerals. In addition, there is a substantial section on North Dakota and Montana, both of which are also highly praised, the former for wheat and the latter for cattle and sheep. Montana is described, for example, as “the best grazing country in the world, the grass being better and more abundant than in any of the states or territories.” The final page consists of ads promoting the railroad’s lands. One ad prophetically exhorts users, “Preserve this map.” The highly detailed map shows the railroad’s lands in Douglass, Lincoln, Spokane, Adams, Whitman, Yakima, Franklin, Garfield, Columbia, and Walla Walla Counties. The land is displayed in sections with keys showing the railroad’s land, government lands, and lands reserved for school.

            This publication is another in the Railroad’s continuous flogging of its lands granted by the U.S. government in exchange for completing the road itself. Numerous late nineteenth-century publications promote the lands from the Midwest to the Pacific Ocean, of which this is a fine, large example. ($200-400)

Auction 21 Abstracts