Hagstrom Company
Encyclopedia
Hagstrom Map is the best-selling brand of maps in the New York City metropolitan area. It was formerly part of the Langenscheidt
publishing group, who sold its map division to Universal Map, an affiliate of Kappa Publishing Group
, in 2010.
The company began in 1916 when Andrew Hagstrom, a Swedish
immigrant produced a map to help customers locate his newly opened drafting business in lower Manhattan
. The map was popular enough to go on sale, and Hagstrom soon extended it to include all of Manhattan. Later he developed maps of New York City's other borough
s and then the extended New York City region, eventually offering over 100 maps. During the 1970s and 1980s, Hagstrom's catalog included maps of a number of cities beyond the New York area, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia, though most of these publications were out of print by the 1990s.
The company's lineup includes atlases, borough maps, maps of the Tri-State Region and detailed and quite colorful maps of midtown Manhattan. The midtown maps, which detail most of the significant buildings and businesses (Rockefeller Center
, Pennsylvania Station
, Saks Fifth Avenue
, etc.) show the changing face of the city's business district, and have started to draw the attention of map collectors.
The New York City Subway
used a Hagstrom design for its official subway maps during the 1940s.
Hagstrom was knighted by the King of Sweden
for his success in America.
The code is as follows:
H A G S T R O M C X
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Usually appearing in the lower right hand corner of a map are letters: e.g. G-SR
To decipher refer to the chart to locate the letters and corresponding numbers below each letter. In this instance G is 3 and SR is 46. The date is March 1946.
The first letter or letters in the code refer to the month, the next two letters refer to the year.
Langenscheidt
Langenscheidt is a privately held German publishing company, specialising in language resource literature. As well as producing monolingual dictionaries, Langenscheidt also produces bilingual dictionaries and travel phrase-books, as well as maps and atlases....
publishing group, who sold its map division to Universal Map, an affiliate of Kappa Publishing Group
Kappa Publishing Group
Kappa Publishing Group, Inc. is a Blue Bell, Pennsylvania based publishing company concentrating on adult puzzle books and magazines as well as children's magazines and maps. It is a private company founded in 1955 with $11.5 million in annual sales....
, in 2010.
The company began in 1916 when Andrew Hagstrom, a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
immigrant produced a map to help customers locate his newly opened drafting business in lower Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The map was popular enough to go on sale, and Hagstrom soon extended it to include all of Manhattan. Later he developed maps of New York City's other borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
s and then the extended New York City region, eventually offering over 100 maps. During the 1970s and 1980s, Hagstrom's catalog included maps of a number of cities beyond the New York area, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia, though most of these publications were out of print by the 1990s.
The company's lineup includes atlases, borough maps, maps of the Tri-State Region and detailed and quite colorful maps of midtown Manhattan. The midtown maps, which detail most of the significant buildings and businesses (Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
, Pennsylvania Station
Pennsylvania Station
Pennsylvania Station is a label first applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.-New York City:...
, Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
, etc.) show the changing face of the city's business district, and have started to draw the attention of map collectors.
The New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
used a Hagstrom design for its official subway maps during the 1940s.
Hagstrom was knighted by the King of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
for his success in America.
Dating code
For many years, a code was used to internally identify the publication date for Hagstrom pocket maps. The practice ceased in 1978.The code is as follows:
H A G S T R O M C X
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Usually appearing in the lower right hand corner of a map are letters: e.g. G-SR
To decipher refer to the chart to locate the letters and corresponding numbers below each letter. In this instance G is 3 and SR is 46. The date is March 1946.
The first letter or letters in the code refer to the month, the next two letters refer to the year.