Carey's General Atlas, Improved and Englarged.

Mathew Carey, Philadelphia, 1816

Table of Contents

                 

Folio (16-3/4 inches x 11-1/4 inches). Engraved title, 58 engraved maps, including 49 double-page, all colored in outline, folding chart. This is a later edition of Carey's important atlas, the first of which, in 1796, was the first atlas printed in America. Original leather boards, detached, spine missing; overall scuffing and worn, mostly intact. Maps are particularly bright and in very good condition.

Carey's atlases were quite successful, establishing his firm as the preeminent American cartographic business by the end of the eighteenth century. This is a nice example of the 1816 edition of his General Atlas, which is of particular interest as it was published only two years after the War of 1812 and the Battle of New Orleans. Carey produced his atlas using American surveys and American materials. Carey was conscientious about keeping his maps and atlases up-to-date, making modifications and additions as warranted by the changing political and geographic situation, especially with reference to American topics. This atlas has 26 maps specifically of North America and its regions, and it is to this edition of the atlas that Carey added an updated map of the old Northwest Territory, as well as new maps of Ohio, the Mississippi Territory, Louisiana, and the Missouri Territory.

Mathew Carey (1760-1839) was born in Dublin, Ireland, and at the age of 19 moved to Paris. He met Dr. Benjamin Franklin there, who hired Carey to work in his printing office. Carey worked for Franklin for a year before returning to Ireland, but left his motherland for good in 1784 to emmigrate to Philadelphia. He established himself as a printer, publisher, and bookseller. He printed the first American version of the Douay Bible, in addition to the King James version. He often wrote on social and political topics, and reporte on debates in the state legislature. Carey was an original member of the American Sunday-School Society.

In 1825, Carey retired, leaving his business to his son, Henry C. Carey. The junior Carey's brother-in-law, Isaac Lea joined the business with him. Under their direction, the publishing house of Carey and Lea became one of the most prominent publishers in the country for several years.

Atlas References: A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress, #721-2, Phillips, P.L, Government Printing Office, Washington

Atlas Universel

Charles Francois Delamarche, Paris, 1823

Table of Contents

                   

Folio (21 3/16 x 15 15/16 inches). Engraved title, 117 engraved maps, all hand-colored in outline and mounted on guards, many with ornate pictorial cartouches. Maps throughout are in very good condition, some with very light age discoloration

This atlas was one of the most important 18th century atlases originally produced by Robert De Vaugondy. After Vaugondy's death in 1786, he was suceeded by Charles and Felix Delamarche, a Paris-based father and son team of geographers and publishers. The Delamarche family continued updating and publishing the Atlas Universel until 1823. The Atlas Universel was considered a standard for many years as the original Vaugondy family employed strict standards of accuracy for including maps in their atlas. They had access to cartography material from Depot de la Marine, the France's repository for maritime information.

Special attention has been paid to North America and Canada, where the French explorers made such important strides during the eighteenth century and the atlas includes information gathered from the latest explorations.

This Delamarche publication carries supplemental maps of the United States updated to 1786 and a Plan of Paris updated to 1822.

Atlas References: A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress, #619, Phillips, P.L, Government Printing Office, Washington

~ SOLD ~

A General Atlas Containing Distinct Maps Of all the known Countries in the World. Constructed from the Latest Authority

Fielding Lucas, Jr., Baltimore, 1824

Table of Contents

               

Folio (14 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches)in quarter leather with marbled boards. Well rubbed and chipped on the corners. The title on the spine reads "Cabinet Atlas". Engraved title, 83 engraved maps (Mexico has been removed), including 10 double plate maps, all with hand-colored wash. Double plate maps are mounted on guards. Maps throughout are in very good condition, with very light age discoloration, a few country maps have small stains (tobacco?).

This atlas is considered the finest world atlas of it's time, the maps are finely engraved and precisely colored with brilliant tones. The date is carefully hidden on the title page in the vignette in the tablet in the lower shaded part of the illustration.

Fielding Lucas, Jr. (1781-1854) operated his own book publishing and selling company in Baltimore, MD for over 40 years, publishing his first atlas in 1817. His early contract engravers included the famous Henry S. Tanner. The intense color in this early atlas is evidence of the wide-reaching interest of Lucas in including colored illustrations into all of his books and atlases.

Atlas References: A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress, #742, Phillips, P.L, Government Printing Office, Washington; American Maps and Mapmakers, p217, Ristow, George, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1985

~ SOLD ~

Atlas Géographique. Statistique, Historique et Chronologique des Deux-Amériques et des îles adjacentes

Jean-Alexander Buchon, Paris, 1825

Table of Contents

                   

Folio (20 ½ x 14 inches). Mounted on guards throughout, title with engraved vignette, 10 double-page letterpress tables. 51 double-page hand-colored engraved maps and 2 double-page engraved charts.

A good copy of the first American atlas to be reprinted in Europe: the French edition, with additions to 1825, of Carey and Lea's "A Complete Historical...American Atlas" (1822).

The majority of the excellent maps have borders of letterpress text giving geographical, historical and statistical details. There are 34 maps of North America, 17 of South and Central America and the West Indies.

Atlas References: A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress, #1176, Phillips, P.L, Government Printing Office, Washington

~ SOLD ~

A New American Atlas, designed principally to illustrate the Geography of the United States of North America; in which every county in each State and Territory of the Union is accurately delineated, as far as at present known: the whole compiled from the latest and most authentic information

Anthony Finley, Philadelphia, 1826

Table of Contents

                   

Folio ((19 x 13 inches). Letterpress title and index. 15 engraved maps with precision hand-colored wash, 14 are sized double-page and are mounted on guards. Engraved by Philadelphia engravers including Henry Tanner and J.H.Young who was just beginning a venerable and prosperous career, well known for his crisp, clear engravings. Publisher's red half morocco boards, top cover features centrally-placed red morocco label lettered in gilt with border in gilt. Top cover and spine cover are separated from the binding, spine chipped and worn. Internally this is an excellent example with very little spotting or foxing.

First and only edition of one of the beautiful and most important American atlases of the early nineteenth century. The maps show one or more states to a sheet, and were among the best of the period.

The 1820's was a period of rapid development in population and transportation in the eastern United States, and this fine atlas presents an accurate and fascinating picture of the country in the early part of the nineteenth century.

The printing plates for this atlas were subsequently purchased by S. Augustus Mitchell, who brought out many cartographical publications under his name from 1831.

Atlas References: A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress, #1378, Phillips, P.L, Government Printing Office, Washington; American Maps and Mapmakers, p270, Ristow, George, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1985

~ SOLD ~

A New General Atlas, Comprising a Complete Set of Maps, Representing the Grand Divisions of the Globe . . . Compiled from the Best Authorities, and Corrected by the Most Recent Discoveries.

Anthony Finley, Philadelphia, 1828

Table of Contents

                   

Imperial quarto. (13 3/8 x 10 5/16 inches). Engraved title, engraved index leaf, fifty- eight handcolored engraved maps, two handcolored engraved comparative charts of mountains and rivers. Top cover, back cover are separated from the binding, spine chipped and worn. Internally this is an excellent example with very little spotting or foxing.

A contemporary review of the period stated: "The number of elegant maps and atlases which have come from the press within a short time in the United States, is a most flattering proof of increased attention of the community to the important study of geography. The present work contains sixty maps, about half of which are devoted to the American continent, and the remainder to other parts of the world, chiefly to Europe. The engraving is done almost uniformly with remarkable distinctness and the face of the maps is frequently beautiful, not overloaded with a confusion of useless names" (NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, July 1824, pp.261-262).

There are 32 maps in the General Atlas that show the Americas, including one for each of the U.S. states. This Finley General Atlas was the most popular American atlas until the appearance of Tanner's New Universal Atlas in 1836. It was published from 1824 until 1834 - with Finley constantly updating the maps.

Atlas References: A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress, #4314, Phillips, P.L, Government Printing Office, Washington; American Maps and Mapmakers, p. 268, Ristow, George, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1985

~ SOLD ~

A Comprehensive Atlas Geographical, Historical & Commercial

T.G. Bradford, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, 1835

Table of Contents

               

Folio (13 1/4 x 10 1/2 inches) in quarter leather with marbled boards. Well rubbed, the front cover and spine cover are detached. Internally this atlas is very good, maps in excellent condition. Contains 66 single page maps in original outline hand colored and 9 comparative charts, 2 in full color. Also contains a full color frontispiece entitled The Five Varieties of the Human Race. 180 pp; pages and maps numbered by hand.

This is the true first edition of A Comprehensive Atlas, which became one of the most popular American published commercial atlases of the 1830s and launched Bradford as one of the prominent cartographic publishers of the period.

This first edition contains interesting early maps of Florida, Illinois/Missouri, Indiana/Ohio, and a transitional map of Michigan. A coast-to-coast map of the U.S. shows little definition west of the Mississippi.

Also in our collection Texas and Tennessee. Individual maps from an updated version of the 1835 Comprehensive Atlas

~ SOLD ~

The Universal Atlas; Comprising Separate Maps Of all the Principal Empires, Kingdoms & States Throughout the World: and forming a distinct Atlas Of The United States. Carefully Compiled from the best Authorities Extant by David H. Burr.

David H. Burr, New York, 1835

Table of Contents

                   

Folio (16 x 13 inches) with red leather covered boards and gilt stamped title "The Universal Atlas" on the front and back boards. Front cover board detached from spine, corners are very rubbed and chipped. The 63 engraved and hand-colored maps have protecting tissue between each map and have done a good job of absorbing acids as a few are burned. Overall, the interior is in excellent conition with general slight age discoloration throughout and with very, very light spotting present. The maps are very bright and have retained their intense color.

This is a very rare first edition of The Universal Atlas, with no date on the title page and with copyright dates on the maps running from 1831 to 1835. No pages are numbered.

David Burr lived from 1803 to 1875 and was a major contributor to 19th century cartography. He completed only eight of the 63 maps in The Universal Atlas by 1832 when he was appointed to the U.S. Post Office as topographer. The atlas was completed by Illman and Pilbrow with guidance from Burr and issued in 1835. This fine atlas is considered a landmark work by many cartography experts.

Also in our collection Arkansas, an individual map from the 1835 The Universal Atlas. Also see our incredible Burr Postal maps.

Atlas References: A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress, 784, Phillips, P.L, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1909; American Maps and Mapmakers, p103-106, Ristow, George, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1985

~ SOLD ~

Mitchell's Universal Atlas

S. Augustus Mitchell, Philadelphia, 1850

Table of Contents

                   

Folio. (17 3/16 x 13 7/8 inches). Lithographic title with large vignette, letterpress 'table of contents', hand-coloured frontispiece of the heights of the principal mountains and lengths of the principal rivers, 72 hand-coloured lithographed maps, charts and city plans. Publisher's red half morocco covers, large title label is torn but elaborately tooled and lettered in gilt and mounted on upper cover. The cover corners are very rubbed and the spine is detached from the binding. Maps throughout are in very good condition with light age discoloration and some occaisional light foxing.

A good copy of this venerable atlas, with hand-coloured maps of all the individual States and Territories, and including a map of 'Oregon and Upper California' that includes the clearly identified gold mining region. Though a world atlas, it includes 43 maps of the United States and Territories.

S. Augustus Mitchell and his sons were prolific publishers of maps in the United States in the early 1800's. Mitchell's first atlas work, A New American Atlas, was published in 1831. This example of the Universal Atlas is the very last issue by Mitchell before he sold the publication rights to Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co. of Philadelphia in late 1850.

Also in our collection Map of Texas from the most recent authorities. An individual map from an 1847 Universal Atlas

Atlas References: A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress, #797, Phillips, P.L, Government Printing Office, Washington; American Maps and Mapmakers, page 311, Ristow, George, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1985

~ SOLD ~

Johnson's New Illustrated Family Atlas of the World

Johnson and Ward, New York, 1864

Table of Contents

                   

Folio. (18 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches) in original half leather with extensive decorative tooling. Rubbed and corners chipped, but internally in excellent condition with only minor soiling to margins.

This 1864 Civil War edition of the atlas includes 62 maps with 25 devoted to the United States (15 double page and 10 single page). The lithographed maps are hand colored, many decorated with elaborate black and white engraved vignettes. The atlas also contains a detailed introductory section on the physical geography of the world with a number pages dedicated to geographical education along with numerous engravings.

Alvin Jewitt Johnson was one of the most prolific map publishers of the 19th Century. Johnson was not a cartographer or engraver, but was an astute businessman, who, like S.A. Mitchell and J.H. Colton before him, recognized the need for quality American maps during a peak period of American expansion and a difficult civil war. He acquired plates and publishing copyrights from J.H. Colton in 1859 and with the outbreak of civil war, Johnson wisely moved his operation from Richmond to New York City. The new firm "Johnson & Ward" and began publishing maps for subscription based atlases in 1862 and continued into the mid 1880's.

Atlas References: A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress, #843, Phillips, P.L, Government Printing Office, Washington; American Maps and Mapmakers, page 325, Ristow, George, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1985