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development of new states, counties and towns. As the years went by, the maps were updated creating for each map a set of map states or variations. These atlases and loose maps taken from them have become of increasing value to collectors and historians. In order for these loose maps to be of full use to historians for study (new counties showed up within two years of their creation and new states of the union almost as soon as they were announced) loose maps from these atlases need to be definitively dated. Collectors also need to know the true date of the maps; while some of the states/variations were utilized for up to two years, many changes occurred sometimes within one year, thus making some versions more plentiful than others.
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Fairchild, Johnson recalls that in 1855 his "old headquarters" were in
Cleveland. He indicates further in the same letter, that one of his helpers in Ohio was Browning, who was a joint publisher with Johnson from 1859 through 1862. Neither Johnson's nor Browning's name shows up in a city directory of Cleveland in the year immediately before either of them came from Ohio to New York. Unfortunately, there were no Cleveland Directories in the two years before that. Cleveland was, however, the home of a book and stationery dealer named Henry P. B. Jewett, who was a distant relative of Johnson, and it is possible that Johnson used Jewett's business as his Cleveland base.
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126:", which was republished by Colton the next year. Most evidence points to the fact that D.G. and A.J. Johnson were not related, but it is possible they were. It does not seem as if A.J. Johnson had the capacity at that time in his career to actually produce maps, and his relationship with D.G. Johnson was probably as a financial backer, similar to what appears to have been his original relationship with Gaston. Both the 1856–57 and 1858-59 New York City Directory's, list D.G. and A.J. Johnson at the same address in New York City. After that, D.G. Johnson's name disappears from both map attributions and directory listings, and he died five years later in 1863.
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products he was selling. However, in an 1868 letter to his major New
England agent, Lewis W. Fairchild, Johnson described how he worked in Boston, as a "general agent" for Colton. This is the first indication of a relationship between Johnson and Colton. It is not clear if Johnson exclusively sold Colton products, or sold other books as well during all or any of the years before coming to New York. This Fairchild letter also indicates that Johnson moved to Ohio after working for Colton in Boston.
143:, which was published until 1879 by the Mitchell firm and from 1880 to 1893 by other publishers. Colton, who had been publishing maps since about 1833, first published atlases in 1855, with the first edition of Colton's Atlas of the World Illustrating Physical and Railroad Geography. This grander, folio sized, and by 1856 two volume new atlas, and its 1857 successor,
98:". The two of them also published the same map in 1855, which was attributed as being published in Cleveland as well as in New York; the same year, Johnson's name first showed up in the New York City directory, as a publisher and at an address later used by Gaston in 1856. It is not clear the role that Johnson played in the financing and/or the production of the
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The
Diamond Atlas, descriptions of all countries exhibiting their actual and comparative extent and their present political divisions. Founded on the most recent discoveries and rectifications. By Charles Colby, AM, editor of "Morse'e General Atlas of the World". Two volumes: The Western Hemisphere
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from 1860 to 1887. These atlases were published under his name alone or with
Browning (1860–62) and Ward (1862-1866), and are fascinating because the sequence of atlas maps documented the growth of the United States during this quarter century, showing the step-by-step expansion of railroads and the
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Three years later in 1853, he returned to the North and started working as a book canvasser, selling books and atlases door to door by subscription. Only a little detail is available about
Johnson's early life as a book canvasser and it remains unclear as to where and exactly when it began and what
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Just prior to coming to New York to develop his publishing company, it appears as if
Johnson's Ohio base where he lived and worked was Cleveland, Ohio. The New York City Directory first lists Johnson in their 1855-56 edition, describing him as a publisher living in Ohio. In another 1868 letter to
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Johnson described his early life as coming from a poor family in which he was the eldest of 12 children. When he was 11 years old he began to work on farms for $ 5 a day plus board, work he continued until he was 21 years old. He came from a background in which sons owed their fathers time and
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Map in the
Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress: A new map of the Union with the adjeacent Island and Countries, from authentic sources. Published by D.G. & A.J. Johnson, Trinity Building, 111 Broadway, New York, 1857 (stored under United States, "A new map of the
151:. While Johnson was a newcomer to the map and atlas industry, and never gained the historical fame of either Mitchell or Colton, his atlases and its maps, published until 1887, appeared to have been popular, and, over the last decade, have become increasingly valued among collectors.
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Map in the
Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress: A new map of our country, prospective and present, compiled from Government Surveys and other reliable sources. Published by Morse and Gaston. 115 & 117 Nassau Street, New York, 1856. Call number G3700, 1856, .G3,
139:, a reissue of Finely's similarly titled atlas of 1826. By the time he retired and handed over his business to his son, S. Augustus Mitchell, Jr., in 1860, he was the major publisher of atlases and maps in America. In that same year his company published the first edition of
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By the mid 1860s, the
American atlas industry had matured into a thriving business. The major players in this field at that time were S. Augustus Mitchell and Joseph H. Colton. Mitchell had been publishing atlases since 1831, the year he first issued his
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The first evidence that
Johnson entered the map publishing business comes from 1854. At that time, while still living in Cleveland, Johnson teamed up with Samuel N. Gaston, of New York, to produce a new map of the United States titled,
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and was enrolled there until his education was completed, supporting himself during this time by working on farms in the summer and teaching lower school in the winter. When he was 22 years old, he moved to
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lists him as a map publisher, and as living in New York. In that same year, Johnson made what appears to be his second foray into the map publishing business when, with D. Griffing Johnson, he produced
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Alvin Jewett Johnson, who signed his letters as A. J. Johnson, was originally a book seller who later in his career turned his attention towards publishing maps, atlases, and books. Johnson was born in
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Much of the information for this section on Johnson's early history came from an interview Johnson gave as the host of a celebration of Horace Greeley's 61st birthday and chronicled in: Wingate, C.F.,
102:, but, in a letter to Fairchild, he referred to himself as the regional agent for the map. The relationship with Gaston did not seem to lead far, and the next year, 1856, Gaston published the
228:, Printed not Published, New York, 1872, pp. 15-19. Similar information was found in an obituary: "The Hand of Death. Sketch of the Career of A.J. Johnson, the Well-known Publisher,"
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dedication until they were 21 years of age, and Johnson "bought his time" back by offering his father $ 25 a year until he reached 21. At the same time he entered high school at the
147:, produced by this well known map publisher, quickly became a major competitor to Mitchell's maps and atlases Also in 1860, Alvin Jewett Johnson published another competing atlas,
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Published by Gaston and Johnson. New York, 1854. Call number G3700, 1854, .G3, TIL. The 1855 edition is identical with the date, 1855; its call number is G3700, 1855, .G3, TIL
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Sketch of the Celebration of the Sixty-first Birthday of the Hon. Horace Greeley, LL.D., at the residence of his Intimate Friend, Mr. Alvin J. Johnson
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Trow's New York City Directory, H. Wilson, Compiler, for the year ending May 1, 1856. New York: John F. Trow, 1855-56 edition
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D.G. Johnson had been a map engraver and publisher on his own from at least 1847, when Ristow notes he published a map, "
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Johnson's New Illustrated (steel plate) Family Atlas, with Descriptions, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical
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A new map of our country, present and prospective, compiled from Government Surveys and other reliable sources.
245:, New Haven, CT:Yale University Library, Manuscript Division, Box 1, Folder 5, "September–October, 1868"
267:, New Haven, CT:Yale University Library, Manuscript Division, Box 1, Folder 5, "September–October, 1868
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Johnson's Illustrated & Embellished Steel Plate Map of the World on Mercator's Projection.
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Ristow, W.W., American Maps and Mapmakers, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1985, p.303
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A new map of the Union with the adjacent Islands and Countries, from authentic sources".
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in southern Virginia, where he taught for three years, during which time he married.
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Lourie, I., "The U.S. Johnson Map Project's Rarity Index for Johnson Atlas Maps",
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Johnson, A.J., Letter to Lewis W. Fairchild, October 17, 1868, 1868, op. cit.
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Found in various Cleveland city directories published between 1852 and 1859
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Johnson, A.J., Letter to Lewis W. Fairchild, October 17, 1868, 1868,
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Johnson, A.J., Letter to Lewis W. Fairchild, October 12, 1868, 1868,
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Map in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress:
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289:, New York: Grafton Press Genealogical Publishers, 1908, p.671
214:, New York: Grafton Press Genealogical Publishers, 1908, p.671
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In 1857, Johnson appears to have moved to New York, where the
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405:, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1985, p.313
358:, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1985, p.318
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287:History and Genealogy of the Jewetts, Vol. 2
212:History and Genealogy of the Jewetts, Vol. 2
184:Lourie, I.,"The Atlases of A.J. Johnson",
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472:19th-century American businesspeople
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414:Bosse, D., "A Canvasser's Tale,"
335:New York: Samuel N. Gaston, 1857.
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457:American publishers (people)
141:Mitchell's New General Atlas
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403:American Maps and Mapmakers
356:American Maps and Mapmakers
333:and The Eastern Hemisphere.
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22:(1827-1884), also known as
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96:A New Map of our Country
28:Johnson's Family Atlases
115:New York City Directory
145:Colton's General Atlas
110:, with Charles Morse.
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381:New York Evening Post
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59:Lunenburg Court House
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20:Alvin Jewett Johnson
432:Johnson Map Project
54:Black River Academy
137:New American Atlas
104:Map of our Country
100:Map of our Country
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416:The Map Collector
330:Colby, Charles.
265:Fairchild Letters
243:Fairchild Letters
108:The Diamond Atlas
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452:1884 deaths
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161:Cartography
441:Categories
172:References
35:Early life
199:Portolan
186:Portolan
155:See also
345:Union")
312:TIL
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