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Description

The Western Gateway of American Commerce

Scarce colored promotional map of the San Francisco Bay area, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, in December 1893.

The map focuses on the railroad and ferry routes in the Bay area, with emphasis on the topographical features of the region.

This is the first time we have ever seen the map, which was likely a publisher's supplement.

The map was drawn by the Swiss Artist Leon Boillot, who also published a work on the Gold Mines of the Klondike in French!  (Aux mines d'or du Klondike : du lac Bennett a Dawson City, Hachette & Cie, Paris, 1899).  The Royal Geograpical Journal, Volume 14, (1899) described Boillot's Klondike guide book as "a well written and finely illustrated description of the journey to the Klondike gold fields and life there."

Leon Boillot Biography

Leon Boillot a Swiss Artist, was born in Switzerland in 1853.

Boillot arrived in San Francisco in 1889, with his wife and Chilren.

In 1892, the Oakland directory showed Boillot with a residence at 1936 Union, Occupation listed as "designer, SF."  By 1898, he was listed as "artist, Chronicle."

By 1901 to 1911, Boillot had begun his career in mining and also draughtsman.  In this capacity, it appears that he worked for John Muir, with a sworn statement in May 1906 stating:

. . . I am a draughtsman by occupation for the past __ year; that in or about the month of March, 1906, William Muir called upon me and brought the hereto attached and annexed Map and instrument,  . . . Muir requested me to make and enlarged map of the same. (Sewell Alvin Knapp Paper, California Historical Society). 

He is perhaps best remembered for his paintings.