Memphis, Tennessee, 1887 – Vintage Map Wall Art
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Memphis, Tennessee, 1887 comes to life in this antique map, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.
Library of Congress record: Perspective map of the city of Memphis, Tenn. 1887
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
Memphis, Tennessee, 1887
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Memphis in 1887 was a river city still recovering from the yellow fever epidemics of 1878 and 1879, which had killed thousands and emptied much of the city. Those losses also cost it self-government: the state had taken over its charter in 1879, and a state-appointed board ran city affairs for most of the decade. Business had moved on regardless. The city was building up its hardwood lumber trade, shipping timber from the surrounding forests by rail and river, and its population was climbing toward the 1890 census. A map drawn in 1887 records a town in the middle of that rebuilding, with its churches, commercial blocks and rail yards set out street by street.
| Created / published | 1887 |
|---|---|
| Creator | henry wellge & co |
| Notes | An original bird's-eye view map of Memphis, Tennessee, drawn in 1887. Bird's-eye view maps were drawn by travelling artists who walked a town street by street, sketching every building from an imagined vantage point in the air, then sold the finished lithograph door to door by subscription. Roughly five thousand American towns were recorded this way between the 1860s and the 1920s, and for many of them the panoramic map is the most complete picture of the place that survives. Reproduced from the original in the Library of Congress collections. Printed to order on archival paper. Free shipping on all US orders. |
| Subjects | Panoramic maps--Tennessee |
| Source | Library of Congress, Panoramic Maps |
| Original scan | 12,960 × 8,880 px · prints to 43 × 30 in at 300 dpi |
| Library of Congress title | Perspective map of the city of Memphis, Tenn. 1887 |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-OYK-490893 |
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