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1903 S.F. Van Oss Railroad Map of the United States Promoting Dutch Investment
Spoorwegen-vanoss-1903$475.00
Title
Kaart der Noord Amerikaansche Spoorwegen.
1903 (dated) 35 x 49.5 in (88.9 x 125.73 cm) 1 : 4000000
1903 (dated) 35 x 49.5 in (88.9 x 125.73 cm) 1 : 4000000
Description
This revealing publication is a 1903 Salomon Van Oss map of the United States promoting Dutch investment in American railroads. Maps like this, though rarely seen today, were instrumental in the rise of American railroad barons, as Dutch and other foreign investment provided much of the capital for the mid-19th century American Railroad Boom.
A Closer Look
Coverage embraces the United States and parts of Mexico and Canada, with 72 railroads illustrated. An index in the lower left identifies individual railroads with unique combinations of color and line. The key provides additional information, including the railroad names, controlling railroads (if any), and the overall owners: Vanderbilt (red), Pennsylvania Railroad (yellow), Morgan-Hill (purple), Harriman-Kuhn Loeb (green), Gould-Rockefeller (blue).Dutch Investment in American Railroads
Dutch investment in American railroads began in 1856 when Illinois Central Railroad bonds and shares were offered in Amsterdam. Through the remainder of the 19th century and into the first decade of the 20th, over 300 American railroads offered securities to Dutch investors. Some of these proved to be sound investments (including the 'Illinois Central'), while others, such as the 'Galveston, Houston, and Henderson', went bankrupt - underscoring the high-profit, high-risk nature of railroad securities. Dutch industry caught up with its foreign competition in the early 20th century and, since it was now a fruitful area of investment, drew much of the attention away from lower-yielding American railroads.Publication History and Census
This map was created by Salomon Frederik van Oss, lithographed by W.R. Casparie and Co., and published by P. Noordhoff in 1903. It was originally offered to subscribers to the De Nieuwe Financier en Kapitalist. It is not cataloged in OCLC, and we have found only one other instance when it has appeared on the private market.Cartographer
Salomon Frederik van Oss (April 10, 1868 - January 31, 1949) was a Dutch journalist, publisher, and banker. Van Oss was born in Vierlingsbeek to a wealthy Jewish family. He became a freelance correspondent for Algemeen Handelsblad in 1888 and began working in London, where he also found work writing for other magazines. He wrote about various subjects, but soon, financial matters became more and more of a focus. He traveled North America from early 1890 until the summer of 1892, and when he returned to Europe, he was viewed as an American railways specialist. He traveled to South Africa in 1895 to investigate the true value of the gold mines there. He moved back to the Netherlands in 1902 and became the editor-in-chief of De niece Financier en Kapitalist, a Dutch magazine on financial subjects published from 1877 until 1940 by P. Noordhoff. He published the first edition of Van Oss's effectenboek in 1903. (It continued to be published annually until 1978.) One of his significant investments was in the Oklahoma Central Railroad. Vanoss, an unincorporated town in Oklahoma along the old Oklahoma Central route, is named after him. Van Oss continued to write and publish throughout the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s and founded a publishing firm in 1923. He survived World War II because of his marriage to a non-Jewish woman but lost control of all his businesses. He wrote fiction and nonfiction during the war. More by this mapmaker...
Condition
Very good. Dissected and mounted on linen in 18 panels. Light foxing.