Two maps showing the late 19th century transportation system:

A. Tracks for Full Powered Steam Vessels with Distances in Nautical Miles, by U.S. Hydrographic Office, dated 1891 (43.1 x 27.1"). A remarkably detailed map showing the routes and distances between ports throughout the world. Of particular interest are a number of routes to the Hawaiian Islands, Australia and Asia. The bottom of the map includes tables with mileage between points, as well as a chart comparing routes via the Cape of Good Hope and Suez Canal. Condition: Issued folding with a few tiny splits mostly at the fold junctions.

B. Transportation Routes of the World, by the Bureau of Statistics, Department of Commerce and Labor, circa 1905 (34.9 x 18.0"). According to the 1905 edition of Monthly Summary of Commerce and Finance of the United States (p. 1549), this map "is intended to present a bird’s eye view of the great land and water transportation routes of the world. Many maps showing vessel routes on the ocean have been published, also many maps showing the railways of the principal countries, but few if any attempts have been made to show even in outline in a single map the great transportation routes and systems of the entire world. This map…it is hoped will serve the purpose of presenting in outline a combination of the information regarding land and water routes found on in separate form in other publications.” Condition: Issued folding on a bright sheet with a bit of offsetting.

References:

Condition: A

See description above.