Current Auction
Lot 128
Current Auction

Rare Late 19th-Century Livestock Population Map

"Map of the United States Showing Farm Animals in Each State"

Subject: United States

Period: 1881 (dated)

Publication:

Color: Black & White

Size:
11.3 x 8.3 inches
28.7 x 21.1 cm
Download High Resolution Image
(or just click on image to launch the Zoom viewer)

This rare and unusual map showing the livestock population in each state was printed and published by the advertising arm of Decatur's H.W. Hill & Co., manufacturers of hardware and agricultural implements. Each state is crammed with illustrations of pigs, cattle, and sheep, with numbers printed across them indicating the state population of a given animal. Unsurprisingly, Texas leads the Union in cattle, with more than 5 million shown, while California has an impressive population of more than 7 million sheep. Many of the animals are irreverently posed; for instance, animals consult Hill & Co. maps, play banjo, chase or attack people, and, in New York, dress like Boss Tweed. Surrounding the map are advertisements for Hill & Co. products, with a "bully boy" showing off his calf weaner and ear marker and a hog held in place with tongs while a triangular ring is inserted into its nose. On verso is more advertisements and an alternate title: Live Stock Census Map of the United States and Canada. Copyright by C.P. Housum in 1880, but verso shows 1881 date.

References:

Condition: B+

On thin bluish paper with a few tiny chips and minor creasing at left. Minor soiling.

Estimate: $200 - $230

Sold for: $550

Closed on 11/20/2024

Closed