J. H. Colton

Joseph Hutchins Colton (1800–1893) was an American cartographer and publisher who founded one of the most prominent mapmaking firms of the nineteenth century. Born in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, he moved to New York in 1831 and quickly established his business as a leader in commercial cartography. In its early years the firm issued licensed works from established mapmakers such as David H. Burr, and Colton engaged leading engravers including Burr, Samuel Stiles, John Disturnell, and D. Griffing Johnson. Over time the company produced a wide range of materials—railroad maps, folding pocket maps, immigrant guides, wall maps, and richly ornamented atlases that were admired for their decorative borders and quality printing. Colton’s maps were engraved on steel plates and often finished with hand coloring, giving them a durability and detail that distinguished them from cheaper productions.

In the early 1850s Colton’s sons, George Woolworth Colton and Charles B. Colton, joined the firm, marking the beginning of its most productive period. Among its many commissions was a large-scale project for the Bolivian government in 1857, which led to a lengthy legal dispute but ultimately brought Colton significant compensation. The firm continued to publish influential works, including guides to the Kansas Territory and the Rocky Mountain gold regions, and its maps entered the holdings of major libraries, archives, and universities. Colton remained active until the late nineteenth century, and his name became synonymous with American map publishing. He died in 1893 at the age of ninety-three, leaving a legacy preserved today in institutions across the world.