Dallas, Texas - 1872
1872 was quite a year for Dallas.
The city fathers had just convinced the Houston & Texas Central Railway to include Dallas on its route and the population boomed.
At the start of 1872 Dallas was home to about 3000 souls. By September there were over 7000 Dallasites.
Gas light had begun to illuminate homes and businesses just a year before this map was drawn. Within a few months Dallas would be the trade hub of the region.
So what you see here is sort of a baby picture of Dallas.
It's known as a bird's eye view, also called as a perspective map.
The artist first used plat maps and surveys to get the lay of the land, then came the arduous task of walking every street, making sketches of the the buildings and landscape from various angles.
Then he adjusted the perspective upward and compiled it all into a cohesive and accurate map of the town. People of the nineteenth century were enthralled. Can you blame them?
The artist, Herman Brosius (1851-1917) was a wood carver and lithographer who worked alongside his twin brother, Frederick, to produce dozens of town views spanning the United States from 1871 through the end of the century. This view of Dallas is one of his earliest works. He was only 20 when he drew it.
Physical Details
- 34 by 24 inches
- On fine-art paper
- An instant heirloom
This is a high quality fine-art print.
The paper is acid free, cold press cotton watercolor with an elegant lightly textured finish. This surface allows the inks to 'bite', reproducing the shading and tonality of the original map vividly, beautifully, and exactly.
The inks are guaranteed color-fast for 80 years, which means you won't need to lay out the extra money for UV glass. You can hang your map in direct sun and it will be just as bright when passed on to the next generation it is the day it ships.
It's an instant heirloom. Get yours before they're gone...and get one to give to a friend. He'll owe you!
