One of the Earliest Printed Maps of Nashville

Rare Confederate Imprint Plan of Nashville

Fine early plan of Nashville showing a detailed street grid and railroad. The map identifies prominent buildings, public spaces, waterways and suburbs. Shows early suburb of Edgefield and identifies buildings by numbers, which corresponded to the Directory key.

Includes an outline in early ink bisecting the city with other ink markings on the front and early ledger calculations in ink on verso.

The map appeared in the Nashville City and Business Directory for 1860-61, published by L.P. Williams in Nashville in 1860.

Our search of early printed maps of Nashville located only the Criddle Smith map (Doolittle & Munson, 1831 -- OCLC locates 1 example) and small directory map printed by Du Val in 1859.

Rarity

The map and directory are extremely rare. OCLC locates a single example in the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

The Directory is also extremely rare, even without the map. We note one example at auction (Anderson Galleries, 1907, lacking the map). Similarly, Sabin references the directory without the map.

OCLC lists a single example (Emory University), also lacking the map.