This fascinating manuscript atlas is a unique and important working document showing the land acquisition of the Cincinnati & Indiana Railroad in the heart of city of Cincinnati along the Ohio River. It contains and index map and 32 single-page plat maps from Plum Street to Mill Creek, showing individual property owners, businesses and the various acquisitions of the C&I Railroad. The acquisitions themselves were adjacent to the former path of the Cincinnati and Whitewater Canal which went bankrupt and was purchased by the railroad in 1862. Acquiring the old canal allowed the railroad to lay its tracks on its established path and reduced the number of acquisitions/right-of-ways required to build a new line. Drawn on a very detailed scale of 40 feet per inch, and several maps are enhanced with hand coloring. Elephant folio, hardbound in quarter leather with tips over pebbled brown cloth boards.

The Cincinnati & Indiana Railroad was founded in 1861. In 1867 it merged with the Indianapolis & Cincinnati Railroad and the Lafayette & Indianapolis Railroad to form the Indianapolis, Cincinnati & Lafayette Railroad. The merged company went bankrupt in 1880 and was restructured as the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway.

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Condition: B

The maps, backed with original linen, are good to very good with light to heavy soiling and numerous extraneous pencil and ink notations from use. The binding has perished and the maps are therefore loose with most signatures still intact. Covers are heavily worn and chipped.