1910 Kennedy Co. Bird's-eye View Map of Puget Sound, Seattle, Vancouver

A striking 1910 chromolithograph view map of Puget Sound, Olympic Peninsula, and Vancouver Island. The view looks west on the Puget Sound from an orbital-level highpoint above Washington State. Coverage extends from the Columbia River to the Northern tip of Vancouver and from Seattle to the distant, red, sunset over the Pacific. The routes of the Puget Sound Navigation company are highlighted.

Puget Sound Navigation Company

The Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSNC) was founded by Charles E. Peabody in 1898. It operated a fleet of steamship routes covering from Puget Sound to the Georgia Strait, British Columbia. Their shops were known for their unique ensign, a black ball on a white background, for they acquired the colloquial moniker, Black Ball Line. By the 1930s, the PSNC achieved a virtual monopoly on cross-sound traffic and competed with the Canadian Pacific Railway's steamships on several routes. The firm still operates ferry routes across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, between Port Angeles and Victoria.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired product. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it emerged as the dominate method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

Printed in 1910 by the Kennedy Company to promote the Seattle-based Puget Sound Navigation Company. The earliest use of this image we have identified is 1908, when it was included in a larger pamphlet. In the present form, this is the first edition, or 'first edition thus.' The map went through multiple subsequent editions through the late 1920s, but full color examples with the red highlighting as here are limited to the first two editions (1910 and 1911) and confusingly quite scarce. We note examples at the Seattle Public Library and in the collections of U.C. Berkeley.