Lumbering Map- Hamilton County, N.Y.

This remarkable chromolithographic lumbering map captures a pivotal moment in Adirondack history, documenting Township 40 of the historic Totten & Crossfield Purchase in Hamilton County. Compiled by H.S. Meerham from U.S. Geological Survey data, the map presents an unusually dynamic composition with the diamond-shaped township boundary set against a circular topographic vignette of the surrounding terrain. The detailed legend reveals the map's working purpose: merchantable spruce land rendered in green, swamps carefully delineated, burned areas marked, and the infrastructure of timber extraction (railroads, roads, dams, and mill sites) precisely located. Place names read like a gazetteer of Adirondack history: Raquette Lake, Long Lake, Brandreth Lake, and the various points, bays, and islands that generations of sportsmen and lumber barons came to know. Created during the height of the conservation movement that would define Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, this map embodies the tension between preservation and exploitation that shaped the Adirondacks. A distinguished addition to any collection of American cartography, forestry history, or Adirondack memorabilia.