Background
Julius Bien was born on September 27, 1826, in Naumburg near Cassel, Germany, the son of Emanuel M. Bien, lecturer and lithographer.
Julius Bien was born on September 27, 1826, in Naumburg near Cassel, Germany, the son of Emanuel M. Bien, lecturer and lithographer.
Julius attended the Academy of Fine Arts at Cassel and the Städel Art Institute at Frankfurt-am-Main, where he studied painting and specialized in the graphic arts.
Having participated in the revolutionary movement of 1848, Bien came to the United States in the following year, settling in New York City. There he began business on a small scale with one lithographic hand press. Some of his early major commissions were to prepare the illustrations for the report on European railways by Zerah Colburn and A. L. Holley, and to produce a chromo-lithographic edition, by transfer from the original copper plates, of Audubon's Birds of America. The latter undertaking had to be abandoned soon after its inception because of the Civil War.
Having observed and reflected on the generally low standard of maps being produced in the country of his adoption, Bien saw in this deficiency an opportunity to apply his knowledge. He sought an interview with President Pierce, who referred him to the Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, who was at the time the responsible head of the Pacific Railroad surveys. The reports were being published, and the engraving of a number of the maps was entrusted to Bien. Outstanding among these was the general map of the territory between the Mississippi and the Pacific on the scale of 1:3, 000, 000, which first adequately represented the relief of this vast area, in its various editions successively incorporated new explorations, and remained the standard map of the West for more than twenty-five years.
Bien’s maps were not merely translations on stone of authors' drawings; often it was due alone to the method of representation devised by Bien that the geographical significance of the facts they portrayed became fully apparent. This is especially true of the maps and atlases accompanying the decennial census reports, of which Bien engraved those for the Ninth to the Twelfth Census (1870 - 1900). Noteworthy among these was a series of maps in the text volumes of the Tenth Census showing population density in the different sections of the country on larger scales than have ever been attempted since.
Other outstanding cartographic productions by Bien were: the Geological and Geographical Atlas of Colorado (1877), by F. V. Hayden; the Geological and Topographical Atlas Accompanying the Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel (1876), by Clarence King; the numerous map sheets on the scale of four or eight miles to the inch issued by the United States Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian under G. M. Wheeler (the representation of relief by hachures or shading on the topographic sheets of this series represented a degree of technical excellence in that domain not surpassed in this country before or since); and the atlases accompanying the following United States Geological Survey reports: C. E. Dutton's Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District (1882) with W. H. Holmes's masterly drawings; G. F. Becker's Geology of the Comstock Lode (1882); S. F. Emmons's Geology and Mining Industry of Leadville, Colorado (1883 - 86); and Geology of the Yellowstone National Park (1899) by Arnold Hague and others.
The monumental Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies contains no less than 175 plates consisting of plans of battles and other military operations. It also includes a useful general map of the eastern half of the country on an exceptionally large scale (ten miles to the inch). During the Civil War itself Bien had made an active contribution by equipping a field map printing outfit for Sherman on his march to the sea. Many maps were also engraved and printed for state geological surveys, including the "Hand Atlas" for the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania (1884 - 1885) by J. P. Lesley and the atlas for the Geology of New Hampshire (1878) by C. H. Hitchcock. Of a number of atlases Bien was publisher in his own name, viz. , Westchester County, New York (1893), New York State (1895), Pennsylvania (1900), and the excellent topographic Atlas of the Metropolitan District Around New York City (1891).
Julius Bien was recognized as one of the finest map printers of his time. The total production of the Bien establishment amounts literally to thousands of different maps. There was scarcely a major geographical or geological publication issued by the Government for which maps were not engraved and printed by Bien. His prolific cartographic output during his lifetime included all the U. S. western surveys, the U. S. Census, the coast surveys, the Pacific Railroad Surveys, Civil War maps, and several atlases that he published himself. During his long career Bien did more than any other to create and establish scientific standards in American cartography.
Bien was president of the National Lithographers' Association from 1886 to 1896.
On the personal side the outstanding traits of Bien's character were breadth of view, tolerance, and love of his fellow man. Kindly and modest in personal relations, his life was characterized by many deeds of unobtrusive philanthropy.
In 1863 Bien married Almira M. Brown of Philadelphia.
