Hand-drawn Map of the North Branch Mines, Garrett County Maryland, c. 1870 picnic basket creating his own cloth binding

creating his own cloth binding

and would make for a spectacular cocktail service

and then a plug-shaped piece as the terminus

but was easier to photograph lying flat

The sliding top works fine

Hand-drawn Map of the North Branch Mines, Garrett County Maryland, c. 1870 picnic basket creating his own cloth bindingI love a hand drawn map, and find this one both exquisitely beautiful in the way it is rendered and quite poetic in its perfect matter of factness. Drawn in black ink (now kind of sepia toned) on an almost vellum like paper (used by architects in the 19th c.), the map depicts the North Branch coal mine in Garrett County, Maryland, which a little research reveals began operations in 1864, supplied the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and was the subject of