WELCOME 1920's Pennsylvania Maps WELCOME

The maps from around 1900 to the 1930's look much the same.


1920 NORDOSTSTAATEN DER NORDAMERIKANISCHEN UNION, Bearb. V. H. Mielishch U. E. Umbreit. Flachentreuer Azimutaler Entwurf. Lithogr. V. M. Grosse, O. Kehr U. G. Kirchner, dated April 1920. This map is plates 97 and 98 from a German atlas published in the early 1920s. The northeast is shown from Vermont to Indiana and south to Kentucky; Pennsylvania is at the center. Longitude from Greenwich, blank verso. Scale: 1 inch = 47 miles. Size: 20 x 15 inches.
1921 PENNSYLVANIA - showing counties in different colors - townships - cities - boroughs - villages - post offices..., published by the National Map Co., Indianapolis. The map is undated but references the 1920 census and likely dates circa 1921-25, only the mid-part is shown here. This huge map, 48 x 60 inches, includes an inset with Congressional Districts and a gazetteer of cities and towns with population along the bottom and on the verso. Main roads are crudely shown in broad red lines without route numbers, as the detail shows, which likely dates it earlier than 1925. Rail and electric lines are also shown. The maps folds into a 8.5 x 6 inch black cover. Scale: 1 inch = 5.2 miles.
1922 NORTH-EASTERN STATES, Plate 93 from the 1922 edition of the Times Atlas, prepared at the Edinburgh Geographical Institute under the direction of J.G. Bartholomew, the well-known British cartographer. This map shows the Mid-Atlantic states west to Indiana, including New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, West Virginia, and parts of surrounding states. It is blank on the verso save for title and index. Longitude west from Greenwich. Scale: 1 inch = 40 miles. Size: 16 x 22 inches.
1923 PENNSYLVANIA, from the 1923 Atlas of the World and Gazetteer, published by Funk & Wagnalls Co., NY, copyright C. S. Hammond & Co. This small map comes from an atlas of over a hundred maps which complemented the famous Funk & Wagnalls encyclopedias. For those of a certain age, the phrase "look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls" brings a smile. Size: 9.5 x 6.5 inches.
1924 PENNSYLVANIA'S ABANDONED, EXISTING AND PROPOSED CANALS AND NAVIGABLE RIVERS, from The Smithsonian Institution's Study of Natural Resources Applied to Pennsylvania's Resources by Samuel S. Wyler, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, August 1924. This map comes from a 182 page book containing information on natural resources, agriculture, and transportation displayed by using maps. This particular one shows a long forgotten means of transport, the canal system. In 1924 the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal that ran from Cumberland to Washington along the Potomac went out of business, so it is a little ironic for this map to talk about 'proposed' canals.
1925 PENNSYLVANIA, a map puzzle with Hammond's standard map of the state printed on quarter-inch cardboard. Each piece is a county with smaller counties combined on one piece. The outline of each piece can be clearly seen. Scale: 1 inch = 28 miles. Size: 8 x 11 inches.
1926 POST ROUTE MAP OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA SHOWING POST OFFICES WITH THE INTERMEDIATE DISTANCES ON MAIL ROUTES IN OPERATION ON THE 1st OF DECEMBER 1926, published by order of Postmaster General Harry S. New. Compiled and drawn by C. F. Hohoff. This postal map was apparently printed by the government. It is in two large sections, each 41 x 36 inches, and shows rail lines with the distances between post offices; roads are not shown. The eastern section, part of which is shown here, has the title and insets of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The western section begins at the Potter to Franklin County meridian. Blank verso. Scale: 1 inch = 5 miles.
1927 PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL PENNSYLVANIA, from Essentials of Geography Second Book Part One Revised Edition with Pennsylvania Supplement, by A. P. Brigham & C. T. McFarlane, American Book Co., New York 1925. The map is from an appended 32 page Pennsylvania section by J. R. Smith & J. H. Willits copyright 1927. It is a double page spread showing counties, towns, and elevations by color. Size: 10 x 16 inches.
1928 THAYER'S INDUSTRIAL MAP OF PENNSYLVANIA, published by the Reyaht Co., Butler, Penna., built with the aid of Professor James Roscoe Huston, copyright 1928. This is a large folding wall map with paper squares pasted on linen with gaps at the folds so the paper does not wear; the eastern section with title is shown here. Local industries such as steel, coal, lumber, etc. are marked in red as the detail shows. There are insets of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and major roads are named, such as the Lincoln Highway, and indicated by heavy brown lines. County boundaries and towns are indicated, but little geographic detail. Thayer industrial maps also have been seen for Europe and the United States. Scale: 1 inch = 5 miles. Size: 40 x 65 inches.
1929 STEAM RAILROAD MAP OF PENNSYLVANIA, issued by the Public Service Commission 1929; J. W. Clement Co., Matthews-Northrup Works, Buffalo, N. Y. This large folding map is the late twenties version of the J. Sutton Wall state produced railroad maps from the turn of the century, now farmed out to a private contractor. Sound familiar? It has insets of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia at top, with rail lines identified by color code, as the detail shows. Scale: 1 inch = 6 miles. Size: 35 x 56 inches.

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