Map of the World on Mercators Projection. New York 1845. Geographical Part engraved by John M. Atwood, NY

Ensign, T. & Edward H.

Published by Ensign, New York, 1845

About this Item

Interesting rolling map of the world on its original rollers, showing early Western United States cartography, depicting both the Republic of Texas and the disputed Canada/United States border in Oregon. The early US Western cartography shows "Oregon" meeting "Mexico" at the "1819 border", north of San Francisco. The Republic of Texas, which was established when it ceded from Mexico in 1836 and declared its independence, is recorded as separate from the United States & Mexico both by borders & color. The Republic lasted until 1846, when Texas joined the United States. The western-most named states are Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas & Louisiana, although the United States territory runs to the Rocky Mountains. The map is very decorative, with 4 corner vignettes of the peoples and animals of four continents, a border of shells of the world & a border of flags of the world. The corner vignettes depict America, Asia, Europe & Africa. The shell border is composed of 46 different vignettes of shells of the world, which are not merely designs, but portrayals of different shells, making it quite interesting to a conchologist. The map is also surrounded by a border of flags, both country and ship flags, 91 in total. Some of the notable flags include Texas, New Zealand, American ensign, East India Company, China, Cochin China, Batavia, Japan, Birman Empire, Tunis, Morocco, Salee, Tetuan. Tracks of explorers include Columbus (1st-4th voyage), Cabot, Vasco de Gama, Drake, Anson, Cook (1st-3rd voyage), LaPerouse, Vancouver & Wilkes' American Exploring Expedition. Arctic expeditions include Capt. John Ross, Capt. Parry (2 voyages), Franklin & Capt. Ross again. The Antarctic area is replete with voyages of discovery - three paragraphs describe voyages with dates & descriptions of Cook, Weddell, Crozier & Ross. The coastline is depicted with Wilkes' discoveries. The animals depicted in the "Asia" quadrant are largely Australian, including a kangaroo, joey, swan, spotted dasyure, wombat, platypus, flying squirrel & thylacine. Australia has many notations. Western Australia occupies the western half of the continent, and marked sites include Perth, Swan River, Canning River, Fremantle, Albany, Swan River Settlement. Southern Australia is denoted in a separate color with Adelaide marked. Tasmania & Hobart appear. Port Phillip, Port Jackson and Sydney are marked in New South Wales, which occupies the entire east coast. New Zealand has no settlements noted, but the Auckland & Campbell Islands are noted with discovery dates. Wilkes' 1840 route & landfalls are marked in red. Lithograph in black & tones of blue, red, yellow, pink & green. Modern linen backing restoring old cracks, with old varnish removed, a very professional job. Some brown spotting visible over the Pacific Ocean area. 45.5 x 31". Seller Inventory # 16542

Bibliographic Details

Title: Map of the World on Mercators Projection. ...

Publisher: Ensign, New York

Publication Date: 1845