Catalog Archive
Auction 193, Lot 267

"Historical Map of the State of Minnesota (The Land of the Cloud-Tinted Water)"

Subject: Minnesota

Period: 1931 (dated)

Publication:

Color: Printed Color

Size:
23.1 x 31.6 inches
58.7 x 80.3 cm
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This large pictorial map of the state was drawn by Barbara Bell and published by the Minneapolis Branch of the American Association of University Women. The map itself presents the early network trade routes, roads, forests, and clearings made to create farmland. It is densely filled with illustrations and notations, with particular emphasis on the conflict between Native Americans and white settlers including: "Sioux (Dakota) once the master - with but tomahawk & arrow - loses his ancestral forests" and "This the land of the Dakota - once the hunting-ground of warriors now a smiling farming country." Flanking the map at left are a series of facts about the state including geology, exploration, and notable events. At top are vignettes showing the development of transportation and industry, while the bottom illustration reveals "Nineteen Men and a Woman Who Have Helped Make Minnesota History." The composition is completed by a decorative title cartouche, compass rose, and the state seal. Signed in the plate at bottom right by Barbara Bell and Clara Searle Painter. An overall elaborate and informative all-female production.

References: Rumsey #8301.

Condition: A

Clean and colorful with one minor crease at upper right.

Estimate: $300 - $375

Sold for: $220

Closed on 6/21/2023

Archived