Joseph Hutchins Colton (July 5, 1800 – July 29, 1893), founded an American

mapmaking Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

company which was an international leader in the

map A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

publishing industry between 1831 and 1890. Colton was born in

Longmeadow, Massachusetts Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,853 at the 2020 census. History Longmeadow was first settled in 1644, and officially incorporated October 17, 1783. The town was originally farmland wit ...

, and moved to New York in 1831 to establish his firm. For the first ten years, Colton licensed the use of maps from established

cartographers Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

such as David H. Burr. Colton also employed some of the preeminent engravers of the time, including Burr, Samuel Stiles, John Disturnell and D. Griffing Johnson. Colton went on to create railroad maps, immigrant guides, folding pocket maps, large wall maps, and elaborate

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

es. J.H. Colton Company maps were printed using engraved steel plates, which produced higher quality prints than maps made with less costly wax engravings. They were often individually hand watercolored and were recognized for their decorative borders. In the early 1850s Colton brought his two sons into the business, George Woolworth Colton (1827–1901) and Charles B. Colton (1832–1916). In 1857, Colton was awarded a $25,000 commission by the Government of

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

to produce 2500 large maps of the country. Colton completed the contract, but was not paid by Bolivia, which was mired in revolution. Colton pursued a high-profile legal case against the Bolivian and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian governments and after considerable delay was awarded $100,000 in compensation and damages. In 1859, Colton published
''Hand-book to Kansas Territory and the Rocky Mountains' Gold Region; accompanied by reliable maps and a preliminary treatise on the pre-emption laws of the United States''
by James Redpath and Richard J. Hinton. Maps published by J.H. Colton can be found in the historical

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

s of most of the U.S. states, (including

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

) and of many national governments (including the United States

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

). They are also found in university and museum collections (including at

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

, and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

). File:Colton Texas 1854 (1855) UTA.jpg, 1854 Map of Texas File:Colton, G.W. Turkey In Asia And The Caucasian Provinces Of Russia. 1856 (A).jpg, 1855 Atlas Map of Turkey File:1855 Colton Map of Japan - Geographicus - Japan-colton-1855.jpg, 1855 Map of Japan File:1855 Colton Pocket Map of the United States - Geographicus - UnitedStatesPk-colton-1855.jpg, 1855 Pocket Map of U.S. File:1855 Colton Map of Columbia, Venezuela and Ecuador - Geographicus - VenezuelaColumbia-colton-1855.jpg, 1855 Map of Venezuela, New Granada & Ecuador File:Colton and Johnson Johnson's Africa 1862 UTA (top).jpg, 1862 Map of Africa File:1872 Colton Map of Antarctica or the South Pole - Geographicus - SouthPole-colton-1872.jpg, 1872 Atlas Map of Antarctica

References

External links

*
David Rumsey Map Collection features many Colton maps

* ttp://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/histcountymaps/ga1855map.htm Colton's 1855 Georgia map in the University of Georgia collection
Colton's 1856 England and Wales map in the UCLA collection

Colton's 1885 New Mexico & Utah map in the UNLV collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colton, Joseph 1800 births 1893 deaths American cartographers Map publishing companies 19th-century cartographers American book publishers (people) People from Longmeadow, Massachusetts 19th-century American businesspeople