Plano!
Cast your eye on Plano as it was in 1891.
You are looking at a bird's eye view, also known 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 adjusting the perspective upward and compiling it all into a cohesive and accurate map of the town. People of the nineteenth century were enthralled. Can you blame them?
Thaddeus Fowler (1842-1922) was one of the most prolific artists specializing in birds-eye view maps. He created more than 150 of them during his career in Pennsylvania, but eventually he had to expand his territory to stay in business. He traveled to Ohio, West Virginia, Nebraska and, yes, eventually to Texas.
He drifted down to North Texas in 1890-91. Of the 400+ maps he made, only 17 are known to depict Texas towns, including Sherman, Denison, Wichita Falls, Quanah, Sunset, Whitewright, Honey Grove, and Plano. If you look at his pattern of map production, you find it tracks closely with oil exploration. It was a sound business model: if a boom occurred in an area he had mapped, his map would become invaluable to wildcatters and everyone flooding into the town.
Physical Details
- 34 by 24 inches
- Limited Edition of 254 Copies
- Each one is hand-numbered
- Printed with love in the Heart of Texas
This is a high quality fine art print.
The paper is acid free, cold press watercolor with an elegant ever so 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 they are 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!
