This fascinating Harper's Weekly centerfold provides a glimpse into the early days of rapid transit in New York City. As the text on verso states, "The sketches, diagrams, and plans presented in our opening pages this week will serve to show our readers in the city and country the progress which has been made by the two Elevated Railway companies to confer upon the citizens of New York the benefits of rapid transit, of which they have been so long deprived by the jealousy and opposition of the horse-railroad companies." On April 20, 1871, the New York Elevated Railway Company began running coal-powered elevated trains on what was once the failed West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, kicking off a new era in New York City transportation. A second company, the Gilbert Elevated Railroad, opened its route on June 5, 1878. At the center of the sheet is a view of the Sixth Avenue Station of the Gilbert Elevated Railway, which was still four months away from opening when this sheet was published on February 9, 1878. Along the bottom are three smaller views showing the New York Elevated Railroad's Ninth Avenue Station, the joint track at Pearl Street and Maiden Lane, and New York Elevated Railroad's station on the Battery. There is a map across the top that shows the extant elevated railroad routes, and several diagrams along the sides depict the construction of the railroads.

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Condition: B+

There are some short tears around the centerfold and minor soiling.