An exceptionally rare bird’s eye view of Chicago before the devastating fire of 1871 that destroyed so much of the old city was sold for $160,000 (£118,520) by local saleroom Leslie Hindman (20/20/12% buyer’s premium) on September 15.
It is one of only four known copies of a ‘pre-fire’ Chicago map produced by lithographer JT Palmatary and printed by Braunhold & Sonne in 1857, the others being in institutional collections.
The map was completed just one year after the Illinois Central Railroad was built and it appears in the foreground. Much more on this important discovery can be found at antiquestradegazette.com.