Antique Maps of the United States - California CD
	This CD is brimming with 49 exquisitely crafted antique maps of cities in California made between 1846 and 1909. These maps cover the history of the state before and after California was accepted into the Union. Often described as a land of glorious sunshine and abundant opportunities, California attracted more immigrants than most other states mainly because of its promise of the gold. James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Sawmill in Coloma in January 1848, along the south fork of the American River, thus kicking off the famous Gold Rush of 1849 from whence the term "49ers" was coined. However, when the gold disappeared so did most of the people, but those who stayed behind put their might into farming and industry. It was on September 9, 1850, that California, covering an area of 163,707 square miles, was admitted as the 31st state in the USA.

The name California comes from a mythical Spanish island ruled by a queen called Califia that was featured in a Spanish romance ("Las Sergas de Esplandian") written by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo in 1510. In 1542, The Portuguese-born sailor, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, became the first European to explore California, landing at San Diego on September 28. He went on to discover the Catalina Islands, the sites of San Pedro and Santa Monica and the Santa Barbara Channel Islands. The Spanish explorers originally thought that California was an island.

The Gold Rush permanently established California as a viable political entity. Before the Rush, there were too few people there even to make it a state, but the Gold Rush changed all that and hundreds of thousands of people flocked there. Many stage coach lines including those of Wells Fargo were started beginning in 1849, and in that very year 85,000 people migrated to California: 40,000 came by ship, 15,000 via Mexico, and 30,000 by trek on the notorious California Trail. In 1850 approximately 11,700 prospective gold diggers used the Cape Horn route, and another 13,800 migrated via Chagres and Panama.

One can find the beginnings of the railroad in these maps. The State Highway was opened in 1909. The first coast-to-coast highway, the Lincoln Highway, was completed in 1913.

Interestingly, Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 election in California with only a 734 vote margin. This CD features colorful handcrafted maps which can be explored and studied in great detail by zooming in on areas of interest and with the help of information furnished with each map. Dates, places and other significant events are listed with the maps making them a fabulous source of California’s history between 1846 and 1909 showing how the state emerged from pastoral to urban as the population burgeoned and business flourished.

Sample thumbnails taken from the collection. Click on image to view larger picture.

CONTENTS:

This CD is brimming with 49 exquisitely crafted antique maps of cities in California, made between 1846 and 1909 and covers the history of the state before and after California was accepted into the Union. Included here are grid maps and aerial overviews of cities such as Auburn, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and Stockton. These maps go beyond being mere scaled-down drawings of cities. They are detailed accounts of cities complete with the minutest detail, including horse driven carriages and grass in the meadows. The aerial perspectives and panoramas of several cities are especially fascinating and riveting.

The CD owes its uniqueness to the originality of maps presented therein and is a great source of learning for history students and history buffs.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

These maps show how the cities in California emerged from pastoral to urban as the population burgeoned and business flourished, and it was on June 11, 1856, that the City and County of San Francisco was formed. What a strange town was that, the San Francisco of 1856, with its 30,000 people in speedy transition from a city of tents and shacks to one of brick and stone buildings. The view of San Francisco, formerly Yerba Buena is a faithful and accurate representation of the city as it appeared in that year. However, by 1860, the city was showing visible signs of prosperity and well-being as can be seen by the depiction of well dressed cheerful families out on a picnic or a stroll. The elegant buildings, residential, commercial and congregational stand out in contrast to the open spaces viewed in the 1846 map and by 1870 San Francisco had become the tenth largest city in the United States.

The map of Los Angeles, as it was way back in 1871, is picture perfect and fit for adorning any home as a painting. Just enlarge it, download it and frame it. The vibrant colors used and the details etched on the side are quaint and tell a story of the city’s life as it was then. Founded in 1781, Los Angeles could boast of sky scrapers, a prosperous city center and elegant residential areas by 1909.

One of the wonderful aspects of the turn-of-the-century era was the multitude of grandiose schemes for the development of California. In the early 1900's, the country had rebounded from the depression of the 1890's, so a renewed sense of optimism was the mood of the day - view this fascinating transition on this CD.

CUSTOMER'S REVIEWS:

"I loved this CD from A2ZCDS, which took me down History Street and showed me how our city, San Francisco, grew from 1846 onwards. It was an unforgettable experience which still lives in me. This is the city my forefathers also helped build when they migrated from China. I am amazed that the city was so well planned, even to the minutest detail, by the city fathers even way back then. Keep up the good work A2ZCDS, you have recreated history for us."

Customer's Name: Jennifer Lee. (San Francisco, California).