George Hayward, Map of the City of New York (1856)

This map was engraved by George Hayward for David Thomas Valentine's 1856 Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York. Valentine's manuals were published between 1841 and 1870 and included information on officials, board members, ferry schedules, property values, as well as detailed historical records of New York City. Each new edition contained updated data on the city’s development, which was changing quickly during this period of industrialization, urbanization, and immigration. As Valentine wrote in the preface to his 1856 edition, he wanted to "“present an epitome of [New York City's} early history" since "the present rapid progress of the City...promises soon to obliterate all the natural landmarks of the island." According to the Library of New York, this 1850 map of Manhattan was one of several maps meant to help analyze statistics and listings of officials from the manual to show changes to the urban environment.