[MAP] Johnson's Germany no. I. (c. 1861)

[MAP] Johnson's Germany no. I. New York: Johnson & Browning, c. 1861. [11177]

 Large hand-colored map, 45.7 x 36 cm (18 x 14 inches), some small spotting, suitable for framing. Removed from a bound volume, Johnson's New Illustrated Family Atlas, plate 74. Some small edge tears that will be covered by a mat when framed. Good. 

This map shows the roads, rivers, cities, towns, etc. Includes an inset illustration of Hamburg and of Bremen. The Johnson and Browning imprint and border design 1 dates this map between 1860 and 1861.

"Johnson's map of Germany No. 1, published by A. J. Johnson and R. Browning in 1861, details the regions of Hanover, Mecklenburg Schwerin, Holstein, and Oldenburg, with inset detail plans of Hamburg and Bremen.

"This map is one of Johnson's earliest attempts to depict the large and awkward range of the German Confederation, dividing the region into four separate maps, Germany 1, 2, and 3, and a separate Prussia sheet. The map features the strapwork style border common to Johnson's atlas work from 1860 to 1863. It was published as plate no. 74 in the 1861 edition of Johnson's New Illustrated Family Atlas."

Alvin Jewett Johnson (1827-1884), b. Wallingford, Vermont; school teacher, for some years a book and map seller for J. H. Colton and Co. After some efforts at publishing his own maps, Johnson found success with his Family Atlas, publishing them in Richmond, Virginia and in New York City beginning in 1860. He and his partner Ross C. Browning (1822-1899) evidently purchased rights to Colton's maps, as they appear in the first Johnson's Family Atlas. Johnson updated his maps as cartography became more accurate, and Atlases during the 1860's were bound with maps bearing various dates until that particular map was updated. Johnson and Browning maps were published 1860-1862; Johnson and Ward were years 1862-1866; maps published by A. J. Johnson, A. J. Johnson and Son, A. J. Johnson & Co., date from 1866-1887.

Johnson's hand-colored maps are known for their accuracy to detail and are an important record of internal improvements and westward expansion. All are suitable for framing and valued by collectors.