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1878 Habersham and Gill Map of Oregon and the Washington Territory
OregonWashTerr-habershamgill-1878$2,100.00
Title
J.K. Gill and Cos. Map of Oregon and Washington Ter.
1878 (dated) 36.75 x 27.25 in (93.345 x 69.215 cm) 1 : 950400
1878 (dated) 36.75 x 27.25 in (93.345 x 69.215 cm) 1 : 950400
Description
This is the 1878 Robert Habersham and John Gill map of Oregon and Washington Territory. It was issued during Washington's early push for statehood. According to David Rumsey, 'this is one of the first and best maps that show both Oregon and Washington together, in a large scale, published as a separate'. The present example has provenance connecting it to Jacob Kamm, co-founder of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company.
A Closer Look
Coverage embraces the state of Oregon and Washington Territory. Cities, forts, mountain ranges, open plains, valleys, rivers, creeks, and high peaks are identified, including Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Hood. American Indian reservations are named, with parallel diagonal lines illustrating their borders. The bold illustration of the Northern Pacific Railroad, the Oregon and California Railroad, and the Columbia River and Blue Mountains Railroad underscore the region's emerging railroad network.1878 Washington Constitutional Convention
In 1877, Washington was still a territory but met most statehood requirements. That year, Washington's congressional delegate, Orange Jacobs (1827 - 1914), petitioned U.S. Congress for an Enabling Act so that Washington could become a state as soon as its citizens had drafted and ratified a constitution. In 1878, anticipating the Enabling Act to pass, Washington delegates drafted a constitution, which was ratified by popular vote a few months later. Nonetheless, Congress failed to perform its duties, and the statehood-enabling bill languished, ultimately failing in 1879. Washington's struggle for statehood continued for another ten years, until 1889.Provenance: Prominent Oregon Businessman Jacob Kamm
Jacob Kamm's signature and address appear on the inside cover of the binder. Jacob Kamm (December 12, 1823 - December 14, 1912) was a lifelong steamboat engineer and savvy businessman. He was born in Glarus, Switzerland, and came to the United States as an 8 year old child. He mastered steamboat engineering on the Mississippi River at St. Louis, and on September 8, 1848, received a certificate as chief engineer from the St. Louis Association of Steamboat Engineers. The following year, Kamm followed the masses west for the California Gold Rush. There, he began running a steamer, the Blackhawk, on the Sacramento River. By 1850, Kamm was in Oregon constructing a new steamer, Carrie Ladd, being built to navigate the Willamette River. Once completed, he became the new boat's chief engineer and one of its four owners. He navigated the Willamette until 1879, when he co-founded the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. Over the ensuing 20 years, Kamm built several other steamboats, including the Ocean Wave and the Athlon. The Oregon Steam Navigation Company was a predecessor of the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company, which became a Union Pacific subsidiary in 1910. Kamm himself was 'run down by a reckless bicycle rider' in December 1907 and remained an invalid until his December 1912 death, two days after his 89th birthday. At the time of his death, Kamm's estate was valued at $4 million.Publication History and Census
This map was compiled by Robert A. Habersham, lithographed by Anders Askevold, and published by John Gill in 1878. We note six examples cataloged in OCLC: Princeton University, the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, the Oregon Historical Society Research Library, the University of Oregon, the University of California Berkeley, and Stanford University.CartographerS
Robert Alexander Habersham (September 7, 1838 - April 15, 1921) was a civil and military engineer active in Washington and Oregon in the mid to late 19th century. Habersham was born in Habersham County, Georgia (named after his ancestors), where he was a descendent of Revolutionary War veteran James Habersham. It is unclear where he was educated as an engineer, but he worked as an engineer in Brazil on the Dom Pedro II railroad, during which time he met and married Mariquinha Dos Reis. In the 1870s he was in the U.S. Army, serving as an engineer with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Cavalry. He worked in the Portland Office of the Army Corps of Engineers, achieving the rank of general. From 1896, he served two terms as United States Surveyor General of Oregon. Among his more notable work was the 1874 survey of the Cascades of the Columbia River, for which he served as chief of the party. Later in life (after 1914), Habersham relocated to his wife's hometown in Brazil. He died in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1921 and is buried in the Araça cemetery. He is known for detailed and significant maps of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. More by this mapmaker...
John Kaye Gill (May 6, 1851 - December 30, 1929) was an American journalist, publisher, and stationer active in Massachusetts and Oregon in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Gill was born in Holmfirth, England, but emigrated to the United States in 1855, when he was just 3 or 4. After working as a correspondent for the Smithsonian Institution, he relocated to Portland, Oregon, where he established himself as a stationer, publisher, and bookseller. He is best known for issuing an updated and expanded edition of François Norbert Blanchet's 1852 Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon. While involved with emigration and settlement in Oregon, Gill was openly critical of the poor treatment of the indigenous population. He published several important maps of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, both with others, such as Robert Alexander Habersham (1838 - 1921) and independent under his own imprint. Gill lived in Portland until his death of an arterial hemorrhage in 1929. Learn More...
Anders Madsen Askevold (January 16, 1842 - August 16, 1901) was a Norwegian map publisher based in Chicago Illinois in the late 19th century. Askevold immigrated from Valkryien, Bergen, Norway to Quebec on May 25 1968. From there he made his way to Chicago where he established the firm 'Merchant's Lithographers' in 1870. This firm was unfortunately destroyed just one year later in 1871 by the Great Chicago Fire. We have found no examples of cartographic work printed by Anders during this period, but the Library of Congress does mention the firm as a publisher of panoramic maps. Afterwards he partnered with Peter (Pierre) Roy (1840 - ????), to found the Chicago Map Establishment located at 67 Ashland Block, Chicago. After 1875 or Askevold may have acquired Roy's shares in the firm as from this point on he is listed sole proprietor. This firm published at least 10 different maps, most of which focused on Chicago and Oregon. The connection here is unclear. He returned to Norway from 1880 to 1888, where he printed at least one map of Bergen Norway, before returning to Chicago and resuming a publishing career in April of 1889. He remained in business until about 1898, the date of his last known publication. Learn More...
Condition
Excellent. Light wear and toning along original fold lines. Closed edge tear professionally repaired on verso. Accompanied by original binder.
References
Rumsey 4101.002. OCLC 1001341026.