Denominational Statistics, published in 1883 by Charles Scribner’s Sons, presents a richly comparative portrait of the United States’ religious landscape in the decade after the Civil War. Focused on major Protestant traditions, it distills membership counts and population ratios into a coherent visual narrative for every state and territory. The map’s primary subjects—Lutherans, Disciples of Christ, Congregationalists, and the Protestant Episcopal Church—are rendered through carefully keyed colors and neatly organized graphics, inviting immediate, side‑by‑side appraisal. It is compelling because it translates vast 1880-era data into an intuitive geography of belief, showing not just where people worshiped, but how intensively they did so relative to local populations. In an age of rapid immigration, westward settlement, and urbanization, this piece captures religious affiliation as a vital social indicator shaping communities and culture.

The composition exemplifies late‑19th‑century thematic cartography: small-panel maps for each denomination use shaded intensities to represent membership ratios by state, while adjacent bar graphs rank raw totals for quick comparison. Cleanly drawn state boundaries and a disciplined color palette ensure that patterns emerge at a glance, yet the viewer can also descend into detail via statistical tables correlating adherents to population. This multi-layered design encourages switching between absolute numbers and per‑capita strength, a crucial distinction when judging influence in populous states versus sparsely settled territories. It is a masterclass in “seeing” statistics—where color, geometry, and typography fuse to reveal trends that columns of figures alone might conceal.

The Lutheran panels crystallize the denominational gravitation toward the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Deepened shades across Pennsylvania, New York, Wisconsin, and Minnesota reflect robust ratios tied to German and Scandinavian migrations, while the bars confirm significant aggregates in industrial corridors like New York and Pennsylvania. This dual display shows how older Atlantic gateways retained large totals, yet newer Midwestern centers often boasted the highest concentration per resident. By contrasting counts and ratios, the map clarifies that influence can be rooted in density as much as in size—an insight especially visible in states like Wisconsin or Minnesota, where fewer people overall could still yield strikingly high Lutheran presence per thousand inhabitants.

The Disciples of Christ, Congregationalists, and the Protestant Episcopal Church reveal three distinct geographies. The Disciples’ bars rise prominently in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and neighboring states, mirroring the movement’s frontier and Midwest growth. Congregationalist shades intensify across New England—Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont—where smaller populations produce high ratios rooted in historic Puritan settlements. The Protestant Episcopal patterns favor urban and coastal centers, with New York and Pennsylvania registering notable totals even when per‑capita measures remain moderate. Here the infographics teach a crucial lesson: a denomination’s cultural visibility can stem from urban concentration and institutional footprint, while its numerical strength may appear more vividly in ratio maps than in raw-state rankings.

Scribner’s editorial standard—renowned in the period for clarity and scholarship—shines in the elegant color lithography and pedagogical layout. The plate embraces the era’s drive to elevate statistics into public knowledge, pairing census-related religious data from 1880 with a visual grammar that rewards both the casual viewer and the specialist. Beyond cartographic beauty, its value lies in context: a snapshot of post‑war settlement, immigration, and regional identity rendered through faith affiliations. For historians, collectors, and data-minded readers alike, it exemplifies the Victorian ideal of information made legible—numbers transformed into patterns, patterns into insight, and insight into a nuanced understanding of American society.

Places on this map

• States and Territories: Includes all U.S. states from the year 1880, such as New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Illinois.
• Geographical Boundaries: State lines are clearly outlined to facilitate easy identification of regions.
• No specific rivers, mountains, or large landmarks are detailed on the map, as the focus is primarily on the demographic distribution of religious denominations.

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Denominations Featured: Lutherans, Disciples of Christ, Congregationalists, and Protestant Episcopal Church.
• Membership Graphs: Bar graphs illustrating membership counts by state for each denomination.
• Maps of Denomination Distribution: Different color shades representing membership ratios by state.
• Statistical Tables: Clear data tables relating denominations to population ratios.
• Color Usage: A distinct color palette employed to represent different denominations for easy differentiation.
• Year of Data: Membership statistics are specified as from the year 1880.
• Census Data Representation: Visualizes demographic data collected in relation to religious affiliations.

Historical and design context

• Creation Year: 1883.
• Mapmaker/Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons; known for quality publications, including maps and educational resources in the late 19th century.
• Topics and Themes: Illustrates denominational statistics of various Christian faiths in the United States, including membership size and ratios related to the population.
• Design/Style: Thematic and pictorial approach using color lithography, with graphs and tables for data representation.
• Historical Significance: Reflects the religious landscape post–Civil War, highlighting the growth and spread of Protestant denominations in late 19th-century America.

Please 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.

This 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.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This 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.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.