Wisconsin in 1893 - Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay

George Cram's Chicago-based firm was among the most prolific American mapmakers of the late nineteenth century, and the Wisconsin map from his 1893 Columbian World's Fair Atlas shows the house style at its most functional: clean county lines, careful labeling, and just enough color to make the state's political geography easy to read at a glance. The atlas itself was produced for Wood Brothers Cash Store of Unadilla, New York, as a customer giveaway tied to that year's Chicago World's Fair.

Printed at a scale of 1:2,500,000, the sheet uses Greenwich alone as its prime meridian, a departure from the dual-meridian setup found on many of the atlas's other state maps. Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay are all labeled, anchoring the state's southeast, capital region, and northeastern bay shore respectively, while county boundaries run in red and isolines mark depth along the shoreline. Population figures and area totals in square miles are printed alongside the map, adding a layer of statistical detail to the geography.

This is a good fit for a Wisconsin family, someone who's relocated and still calls the state home in spirit, or a collector building a full set of Cram's 1893 state maps. It's sold unframed and available in multiple sizes, whether the occasion is a housewarming, an anniversary, or just a gift for someone who loves old maps.