Antique Louisiana Map Reproductions

Louisiana
Carey, Mathew, Philadelphia, 1814

A reproduction of a hand-colored copper plate engraved map. Original size: 15.4 inches x 16.9 inches; Scale: 1 inch = 11 miles.

Appeared in Carey's General Atlas, Improved and Enlarged; Being A Collection Of Maps Of The World And Quarters, Their Principal Empires, Kingdoms, &c. ...

Mathew Carey, an Irish immigrant, was a pioneer in American cartography, for he established the first American specialized cartographic publishing firm in Philadelphia. He used the best artists and had numerous craftsmen for engraving, printing, and coloring his maps. He was followed by John Melish and Henry S. Tanner, two other giants in 19th century America. This map is from the first Atlas made in the United States to employ standard color on the maps. This particular example is from the second edition of the Carey Atlas as he calls the 1818 edition the third edition.

This map displays the rivers, towns, and roads of Louisiana just after it's statehood in 1812. Biloxi, Bay St. Louis, Natchez, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge are all identified. Great detail is shown around the mouth of the Mississippi in contrast to the undeveloped, relatively unexplored blank western half of the state. The eastern side of the state is bordered by the Mississippi Territory. The longitude on the map is distorted giving the state a broadened, bulbous shape.

This is one of the earliest maps of the state of Louisiana. It is the earliest available atlas map of the State of Louisiana. An important and valuable record of the cartographical history of Louisiana.

Louisiana
Lucas, Fielding, Baltimore, 1824

A reproduction of a hand-colored copper plate engraved map with original colors. Original size: 17-1/4" x 10-3/4"; Scale: 1 inch = 20 miles..

Includes a scale showing "Common French Leagues used in Louisiana". Originally appeared in New and Elegant General Atlas Containing Maps of Each of the United States.

Fielding Lucas, Jr. (1781-1854) operated his own book publishing and selling company in Baltimore, MD for over 40 years. He began accumulating maps before he enlisted in the Maryland Regiment in 1813, then published his now very rare atlas in 1817. His early contract engravers included the famous Henry S. Tanner.

This detailed map of Louisiana and the southern portion of Mississippi is a very rare find. It is a strong image with deep colors and great details of the mountains, swamps, rivers, and lakes. Towns and known roads are also shown. 15 Mississippi counties are identified along with 24 Louisiana parishes. A special area in northeast Louisiana is identified with "Land Claimed under Baron Bastrop's Title", assumed to be the Baron Bastrop that appears in Texas Anglo immigration in the early 1820's.

In the south, the Gulf of Mexico is identified and the mouths of the Mississippi are quite detailed. To the north, Missouri, and to the west, Texas is identified as opposed to Mexico.
This is a dramatic and unusual map of historical note.

Louisiana and Mississippi
Tanner, Henry, Philadelphia, 1824
A reproduction of a hand-colored copper plate engraved map. Original size: 27.9 inches x 21.6 inches.

Henry Schenck Tanner (1786-1858) followed his brother, Benjamin, into the engraving business and soon realized that American interest in the West was revealing an entrepreneurial opportunity in cartography and map compilation. He engraved maps for early map maker John Melish, and from 1819 to 1823, H. S. Tanner produced an atlas of his own, soon to be considered one of the great American atlases, The New American Atlas. This atlas was an assembly of large-scale maps of the United States and the world, and the atlas was revised and published from 1823 until 1839. According to Rumsey; "Many believe this to be the finest atlas published in the United States in the 19th century".

This large map of Louisiana and Mississippi is exquisitely detailed, with rivers, lakes, creeks, and marshes identified along with paths, roads, and ferry locations. Indian tribe areas are also identified throughout the map. To the west, Texas is correctly identified as are Arkansas and Tennessee to the north. The map contains several blocks of descriptive text explaining fertile soil conditions or months that flooding is likely to occur.

This is one of the largest and most detailed early maps of Louisiana and Mississippi, and an important component of one of America's early atlas' created by it's most respected cartographer and engraver.

Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Map of Louisiana
Cary & Lea, Philadelphia, 1828

A reproduction of a hand-colored copper plate engraved map. Original size: 16-1/2 inches x 20-3/4 inches; Scale: 1 inch = approximately 75 miles.

This map is from the 1st edition of the Carey & Lea atlas, A Complete Historical, Chronological, and Geographical American Atlas… This is the first American atlas that used explanatory text surrounding the map.

A reproduction of a hand-colored copper plate engraved map. Original size: 37-/12 inches X 46 inches.

This is a very interesting piece which freezes Louisiana at a moment in time, some 10 years after the War of 1812. The explanatory text comments of the climate, rivers, levees, education and government. It also allocates a significant portion to a historical sketch. The map notes rivers, towns, and many other features.

Louisiana
Colton, J.H., New York, 1855

A reproduction of a lithograph with hand colored wash. Original size: 12.5 inches X 16 inches

This a rare map from the single volume first issue of Colton's Atlas of the World, Illustrating Physical and Political Geography. published in 1855. It was a popular publication reissued in revised editions until 1888. The atlas was one of the finest and most accurate of the period.

The map displays the rivers and creeks, along with roads and railroads in the state.