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In 1822, Henry Charles Carey and Isaac Lea published their American Atlas. This volume was based on Emmanuel Las Cases' Atlas Historique of 1803, with updated maps and text modified by Carey, a political economist. He considered himself an American foil to John Stuart Mill and the London economists who were proclaimers of "the gloomy science" influenced by Ricardo and Malthus. Instead of preaching overpopulation and degeneration of the human species, Carey illustrated the nations of the western hemisphere through maps that showed an expanding region with ample promise of developing into lands of great new opportunity and growth. The sheets from this atlas, which cover North America, Central America, South America and the West Indies, are comprised of an engraved map surrounded by text documenting the history, climate, population and so forth of the area depicted. The atlas is particularly known for its excellent early maps of the states and territories of the United States. Many of these maps were drawn by Fielding Lucas, Jr., an important Baltimore cartographer. All of the maps show excellent and very up-to-date detail, providing fine verbal and graphic pictures of states and territories in the early 19th century.
It shows the extensive road system in the state and includes a list of Governors up to James Fenner, elected in 1824. NA
The river systems are well mapped, and the development of the state is graphically illustrated, with towns and roads depicted throughout the state. $575
The extensive development of this two decade old state is shown, with counties indicated and named and an extensive network of roads leading among the many settlements from north to south. $550
Illustrates the increased growth caused by the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. $550
The earliest settlement in Indiana came from the south, along the Ohio River, so this area is broken into counties and shows towns and roads. By the late 1820s, this development extended to just north of Indianapolis, with the rest of the state shown as Indian territory except for Allen County with the settlement around Fort Wayne. $650
A later edition of the Carey & Lea map of Illinois, issued five years after the first edition, which noted between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers are shown the "Bounty Lands," while the rest of the state is pretty much devoid of information beyond the river systems, Indian towns and borders, a couple of portages, and the city of Chicago. In this later edition, the "Bounty Lands" to the west of the Illinois River are now shown broken up into counties and townships. The "Indian Boundary Line" is shown to the north of this area, running from Fort Armstrong to just north of Chicago. NA
Missouri is shown in a very early stage of development, with few towns and no roads. Rivers and topography are illustrated and the political divisions are hand colored with bright washes. Note the "List of Governors," designed for future editions, which has two names. An important item of Missouri interest. $675
Development is limited mostly to the south of the state; north of Jackson are only two counties-Yazoo and Monroe-the rest of the state shown as Indian lands for the Choctaws and Chickasaws. Towns, forts, and Indian Agency locations are indicated, as are the roads crisscrossing the southern part of the state. Two roads extend to the northeast, one running from the Pierre River to Nashville, and the other General Jackson's road from New Orleans to Muscle Shoals. NA
This map was based on a manuscript map by Stephen Long drawn in 1821, the first to show the results of his important exploration of the American West from 1819-20. It appeared a year before Long's official report and the map contained therein. Long explored the region between the Missouri River and the Rockies, including the Platte, Red and Canadian Rivers, and his map is a precise statement of the results of his travels. Of particular importance was the first mention of the "Great American Desert" (that is the High Plains), called this by Long to emphasize his belief in the inhabitability of the region; this moniker greatly inhibited settlement of the west for over a generation. This map was praised by Carl Wheat as a distinct step forward in mapping the American West. It includes an early depiction of the Arkansas Territory, extending from the Mississippi to the Spanish Territories of New Mexico, and it also is the first to show Missouri as a state, which it became as part of the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Long explored along the South Branch of the Platte River, shown for the first time on this map, and he depicts for the first time Long's Peak, called "Highest Peak" on this map. Members of Long's party, including Dr. Edwin James, were the first to climb Pike's Peak, which Long named "James Peak" on this map, though the name never stuck. NA
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