{"product_id":"old-topographic-map-of-alberta-canada-1925-calgary-edmonton-rocky-mts-athabasca-river-n-saskatchewan-river","title":"Old Map of Alberta, Canada, 1925: Calgary, Edmonton, Rocky Mts, Athabasca River \u0026 N. Saskatchewan River","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlberta is the forthright title of this 1925 provincial map by The George F. Cram Company, the storied Chicago firm established in 1867. It captures the province at an energetic moment in the early twentieth century, when settlement corridors were lengthening and administrative boundaries were firming into their modern contours. Both political and physical in character, it marries crisp delineations of regions and jurisdictions with a meticulously rendered landscape. Relief is expressed with classic hachures, lending a tactile sense of the land that is amplified by carefully plotted rivers, lakes, and drainage. Practical navigation aids—latitude and longitude, a bar scale in miles, and an alphanumerical referencing grid—transform the page into a precise instrument. As part of a contemporary atlas, it reflects the post–World War I drive for standardization and accuracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe design rewards close study. Hachures sweep along the western edge to suggest the hard rise of the Rockies and the stepwise descent through foothills into the rolling parkland and open prairie. Valleys read as channeled light and shadow, while watersheds are articulated with uncommon clarity: the Peace and Athabasca in the north, the North Saskatchewan and Bow farther south, each system threading towns, farms, and timberlands. Lacustrine shorelines—Lesser Slave Lake, Lake Athabasca, and myriad prairie lakes—are drawn with a careful hand that emphasizes both contour and extent, anchoring the province’s hydrology. The overall effect is a three-dimensional topographic portrait achieved without modern contours, a masterclass in how line weight and direction can evoke mass and movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUrban and rural Alberta unfold through a disciplined hierarchy of place names and routeways. Major cities—Calgary and Edmonton—stand out as organizing poles, linked to Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, and Grande Prairie by a mesh of roads that track river valleys and prairie divides. Smaller but telling entries—Fort McMurray, Airdrie, Spruce Grove—mark the cadence of growth and service across ranching districts, farming townships, and resource outposts. The alphanumerical grid allows swift location of even remote settlements, while distance estimates resolve readily via the bar scale in miles. Roads are not merely connectors here; they narrate expansion, binding the southern grain belt to the central parkland and projecting ambition toward the boreal north.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCartographically, the sheet sits at the confluence of tradition and modernization. Produced in the mid-1920s, two decades after Alberta’s creation as a province, it reflects maturing administrative geographies shaped by Dominion surveys and local governance. The atlas in which it appeared was noted for assimilating post–World War I boundary adjustments worldwide, and that editorial rigor suffuses this provincial view. Graticule lines impose a calm, mathematical order, situating Alberta with confident precision within the continent. Political boundaries are drawn with an even hand, their clarity enhancing rather than competing with the physical geography beneath. The map thus becomes a historical document of policy and place alike, where jurisdictional lines and landforms are held in elegant equilibrium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBehind this clarity stands The George F. Cram Company, a pioneer of American commercial cartography whose atlases bridged classrooms, libraries, and the traveling public. Cram’s hallmark was usability without compromise: legible typography, clean symbolization, and a knack for synthesizing fresh political data with enduring geographic truths. This Alberta exemplifies that ethos. It is rigorously oriented, richly informative, and immediately navigable—equally rewarding to the student tracing watersheds, the historian following settlement arcs, or the collector attentive to early twentieth-century cartographic style. Its precise grid, measured scale, and sculptural hachures together crystallize a moment when Alberta’s landscapes and localities were being fixed in the modern imagination, with craft that remains compelling a century later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCities and towns on this map\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCalgary\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEdmonton\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLethbridge\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRed Deer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFort McMurray\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMedicine Hat\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrande Prairie\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAirdrie\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpruce Grove\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotable Features \u0026amp; Landmarks\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePolitical boundaries outlining Alberta's regions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMajor cities and towns indicated, often marked with labels.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDifferent topographical features including mountains and valleys, delineated using hachures.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRoads connecting various settlements and geographical features.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBodies of water such as lakes and rivers mapped accurately.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDrainage systems illustrated for geographical understanding.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA bar scale indicating distances in miles.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLongitude and latitude lines for navigation and orientation.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlphanumerical grid for referencing locations on the map.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical and design context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMapmaker\/Publisher: The George F. Cram Company, established in 1867 in Chicago.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYear Created: 1925\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMap Type: Detailed political and physical map of Alberta, Canada.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDimensions: Physical size of the map is 36 x 26 cm, presented on a sheet measuring 38 x 30 cm.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAtlas Context: Part of an extensive atlas containing 403 pages filled with various cartographic details, including updated political boundaries post-World War I.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical Significance: Represents the evolution of political borders and geographical representation in the early 20th century, reflecting changes due to World War I.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEducational Purpose: Designed as part of a \"Portable. Washable\" Map and Atlas Outfit, aimed for practical use and convenience.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the \u003ca href=\"\/es\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003ebest old maps\u003c\/a\u003e to see if something else catches your eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease \u003ca href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003econtact me\u003c\/a\u003e to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex\/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":58731369693568,"sku":null,"price":41.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58731369726336,"sku":null,"price":112.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58731369759104,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58731369791872,"sku":null,"price":41.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58731369824640,"sku":null,"price":112.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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