Atlas of Pennsylvania 1900 Census is the title on the cover. On the title page is Atlas of the State of Pennsylvania, prepared under the direction of Joseph R. Bien, E.M. from Original Surveys and Various Local Surveys revised and corrected based on the triangulations and surveys of the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, U.S. Lake Survey and the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania. Published by Julius Bien & Company New York 1900 (and 1901).This was the second folio size atlas of the state, and patterned somewhat on the earlier 1872 Walling and Gray atlas. This one is about 20 x 15 inches, and most of the maps are double page or 20 x 30 inches. Joseph Bien was a topographer and an engineer working with the firm of Julius Bien & Company of New York, the publisher. He had previously put out the 1895 Atlas of New York. Joseph was probably the son of Julius but this is unconfirmed. Julius Bien was born in Germany and emigrated to the United States around 1848 along with a number of other lithographers due to the unrest in Europe. The firm he established became one of the great printing houses of the country. He was primarily a lithographer and when new printing techniques appeared early in the 20th century the firm declined, helped along by Julius' death in 1909. The firm was particularly noted for its state and federal government work; many of the publications for the Pennsylvania Second Geological Survey were printed by Bien. The notable United States Census Atlas of 1870 was another Bien job, along with many maps for the General Land Office, Department of Agriculture, and other government departments.

The following description of Bien's work is taken from Peters: "Born at Naumburg, September 27, 1826, near Cassel, Germany, the son of Emanuel M. Bien, Julius Bien studied art at Cassel and at Frankfurt-am-Main. He took part in the revolution of 1848, and was one of the many notable men brought to the United States by that cataclysm, settling in New York City in 1849. Immediately setting up in business for himself, with one lithographic hand press, he began to produce illustrations for Annuals (1851, 1852) and for children's books - many of the latter from drawings by H.L. Stephens. An example of his more technical work are the lithographed illustrations in "The Permanent Way and Coal-Burning Locomotive Boilers of European Railways," 1858. In 1860 he began to issue beautiful chromo-lithographic reproductions, by transfer from the copper plates, of Audubon's "Birds of America," but the work was interrupted by the Civil War. These prints are in demand for the beautiful coloring and decorative value, and act as timely substitutes for the rare original aquatints. Often Bien took three or four of the Audubon-Havel plates and transferred them to one stone. These lithographs are becoming rare ... . However, Bien will always be remembered chiefly as the first great scientific cartographer in the United States. Soon after his arrival in this country he became interested in improving the quality of maps, and thanks to President Pierce and his adminstration, he was soon making maps of the new surveys in the West. He produced literally thousands of maps of various parts of the United States, lithographed and engraved, and all of high quality, for use by state governments and the federal government. He died December 21, 1909. In 1863 he had married Almira M. Brown, of Philadelphia, who died in 1918."

The Pennsylvania atlas had two almost identical printings in 1900 and 1901; the main difference occurs in Plate 5. In the 1900 atlas, Plate 5 shows information on industry. The 1901 Plate 5 shown below has census information. The pages from the 1901 atlas are reproduced below. The only text is a 20 page gazetteer in front followed by a large folded-in United States map. A folded-in Pennsylvania map is Plate 1, and 46 plates of the state, counties and cities follows.