With the original title “Anderson Map Co.'s: Map of Washington 1909,” this Seattle-made chart distills a dynamic state at the zenith of the Progressive Era. Produced by the Anderson Map Company, a homegrown firm attuned to Puget Sound’s commercial pulse, it balances clarity with verve: county lines blaze in red, forest reserves glow in green, and a tactile weave of hachures animates the Cascades and Olympic ranges. A candid advertising inset for Anderson itself anchors the map in its own origin story, a nod to the entrepreneurial energy that helped propel Seattle after the Alaska‑Yukon‑Pacific Exposition of 1909. Beyond its polish, the sheet functions as a working intelligence brief for travelers, settlers, and speculators, fixing towns, rivers, and roads within a legible, modern framework.

Underpinning the design is the Public Land Survey System, its rectilinear lattice of townships and ranges marching decisively across the Columbia Plateau and easing where mountains or water deflect the surveyor’s line. That grid does more than decorate; it codifies property, homesteads, and resource claims, the legal skeleton behind frontier growth. Hachures—finely graded strokes—render relief with painterly sensitivity, steepening around Rainier, Baker, and Adams to suggest altitude and approach. Labels differentiate county seats from lesser towns, while river names unwind along their courses so the hydrology can be read at a glance. The palette remains restrained yet purposeful: administrative reds clarify jurisdiction, greens announce federally reserved timberlands, and neutral tones let the rail corridors and wagon roads stand out as the state’s connective tissue.

Transportation networks web the face of the map and crystallize Washington’s role as a hinge between inland empires and Pacific harbors. The Great Northern strains over Stevens Pass, the Northern Pacific dives through Stampede Pass to Tacoma, and by 1909 the Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget Sound reaches the salt water, punctuating Seattle’s ascent. Wagon roads braid through Snoqualmie and Naches corridors, the older arteries that still feed ranching and mining districts. Along Puget Sound, port cities align like beads—Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Bellingham—while wagon roads and shoreline connections tie in the peninsulas. East of the mountains, Spokane radiates track toward the Coeur d’Alenes and the wheatlands, and the Columbia and Snake Rivers read as grand, navigable spines. The map catches infrastructure at a thrilling equilibrium: mature enough to be reliable, new enough to promise more.

Urban and rural geographies receive equal, unsentimental attention. Seattle dominates the central Sound, its constellation of suburbs beginning to glimmer; across Elliott Bay, Tacoma asserts its own industrial reach. Everett’s mills and Bellingham’s waterfront signal a northward axis, while Port Angeles stands sentinel on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, gateway to the Olympic forests. Inland, Spokane presides over the region’s ore and grain trade, a dispatch point to Montana and the Palouse. Yakima—still widely called North Yakima—anchors irrigated orchards spreading along the Yakima River, and the Tri‑Cities of Pasco, Kennewick, and nascent Richland form a strategic crossing where rail and river meet. On the east side of Lake Washington, small communities such as Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond appear as modest entries, harbingers of the metropolitan arc to come.

Perhaps most evocative are the green-sashed forest reserves ringing the high country—vast, contiguous tracts on the Olympic Peninsula and along the Cascade crest, set aside in the young conservation ethos championed in the 1900s. Their juxtaposition with red county borders stages a quiet dialogue between local governance and federal stewardship. Mount Rainier National Park punctuates the center like a crown, while surrounding national forests shelter headwaters that feed the Columbia, Skagit, and Yakima systems mapped here in confident strokes. Read today, the composition doubles as a social document: it inventories resources, codifies political space, and choreographs movement at the moment Washington crossed from frontier to organized commonwealth. In the Anderson firm’s hands, cartography becomes narrative—precise, persuasive, and keenly tuned to the land it depicts.

Cities and towns on this map

• Seattle
• Spokane
• Tacoma
• Vancouver
• Bellevue
• Everett
• Kent
• Renton
• Bellingham
• Yakima
• Kirkland
• Auburn
• Redmond
• Federal Way
• Pasco
• Kennewick
• Richland
• Port Angeles

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Administrative Boundaries: Clearly delineated county lines in red.
• Forest Reserve Boundaries: Highlighted in green for easy identification.
• Water Bodies: Various rivers and lakes depicted, including larger bodies of water like the Pacific Ocean.
• Topographical Relief: The use of hachures to indicate elevation changes and terrain features.
• Cities and Towns: Marked with labels, indicating their locations and size.
• Transportation Networks: Railroads and wagon roads are illustrated, essential for understanding travel and trade routes at the time.
• Institutional Designations: Certain areas are marked to represent forest reserves, indicating governmental land designations.

Historical and design context

• Map Title: Anderson Map Co.'s: Map of Washington 1909
• Publisher: Anderson Map Company (Seattle, Washington)
• Date of Creation: 1909
• Cartographic Techniques: Utilizes the Public Land Survey System (PLSS).
• Inset Information: Includes an inset promoting the Anderson Map Company.
• Purpose: Serves as a geographical reference and historical document of Washington in that era.
• Design Style: Clear, vibrant color scheme with detailed annotations.
• Historical Significance: Captures the cartographic, socio-political, and natural landscape of Washington in 1909.

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 is a very large map that must be ordered at a large size, so that you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 100in (250cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 24x36in (60x90cm) 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.

Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.

Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.

We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.

• We can deliver directly to the recipient
• Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
• Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
• Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
• 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide

If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.

Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.

We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.

Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.

Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.

Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.

If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.

Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.

Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 5-year guarantee.

Read our full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

Se non sei soddisfatto del tuo ordine per qualsiasi motivo, contattami per un rimborso senza problemi. Si prega di consultare la nostra politica di reso e rimborso per ulteriori informazioni.

Sono molto sicuro che ti piacerà la tua mappa restaurata o la stampa d'arte. Lo faccio dal 1984. Sono un venditore Etsy a 5 stelle. Ho venduto decine di migliaia di mappe e stampe d'arte e ho oltre 5.000 recensioni reali a 5 stelle.

Utilizzo un processo unico per restaurare mappe e opere d'arte che richiede molto tempo e lavoro. Trovare le mappe e le illustrazioni originali può richiedere mesi. Utilizzo tecnologia all'avanguardia e incredibilmente costosa per scannerizzare e restaurarle. Di conseguenza, garantisco che le mie mappe e stampe d'arte siano superiori alle altre - ecco perché posso offrire un rimborso senza problemi.

Quasi tutte le mie mappe e stampe d'arte sembrano fantastiche a grandi dimensioni (200 cm, 6,5 piedi+) e posso anche incorniciarle e consegnarle a te, tramite un corriere speciale per oggetti di grandi dimensioni. Contattami per discutere delle tue esigenze specifiche.