COLLECTION NAME:
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Record
Author:
Pierson, Francis J.
Date:
1974
Short Title:
The Birds eye View Downtown Denver
Publisher:
Pierson Graphics
Publisher Location:
Denver
Type:
View
Type:
Separate Map
Obj Height cm:
71
Obj Width cm:
61
Note:
Editions of 1981 and 1982
City:
Denver (Colo.)
Subject:
Pictorial map
Full Title:
The Birds eye View Downtown Denver
List No:
15984.000
Publication Author:
Pierson, Francis J.
Pub Date:
1974
Pub Title:
The Birds eye View Downtown Denver
Pub Note:
Signed by Pierson. "The Bollmann map changed the direction of his life... really, it probably did. He was just a college kid that was studying architecture and got some drafting and cartography experience soon after. But it was the neighbor showing him that Bollmann map of NYC that made him think, "I need to do something just like this for Denver". And throughout 1973, when he was off work, at nights, he worked on walking the city, sketching and creating his 1974 Denver Birds Eye. He sold them to bookstores, the local department store and even a bit of door-to-door. And this act set him on the path to start map making and doing more of the birds eye views (Chicago, Dallas, Houston, etc) . In the end he became THE Denver map maker from the 1970's -late 1990's. It all began to change once mapquest and other companies began their online presence. We found Francis and interviewed him, https://www.youtube… Later we got to meet up and chat. He kept all his scribing tools for mapmaking, and we got the box down and went over each. We talked for hours, and he again brought up that he could never repeat his success, because "there's no entry... the bar is too high, beyond normal peoples reach". In a world without regional mapmaker's it's true, the accepted authority is Google, not some guy that just lives here and makes things. There's no place in this world now for Pierson's, or Kroll, or Anderson... all those companies that built a local reputation of quality have been overwritten." (Curtis Bird, 2024)
Pub List No:
15984.000
Pub Type:
View
Pub Type:
Separate Map
Pub Height cm:
71
Pub Width cm:
61
Image No:
15984000.jp2
Authors:
Pierson, Francis J.
