Map for the Interior Travels through America delineating the March of the Army. / Travels through the interior parts of America. In a series of letters. By an officer.

1789 Conder Map of the American Colonies, Anburney's Account of the American Revolution

Publication Date: 1789

About this Item

Very good. Two volumes, rebound in full mottled calf, period style. Vol 1, 467 pages. Vol 2, 538 pages. Archival repairs to first two pages of volume 1, including the title page. Two torn pages, 241/242 of volume 2, and 135/136 of volume 1. Some stains to pages, volume 1, pages 119 - 123. All called for illustrations present. Light foxing here and there. Title pages of both volumes bear blindstamps from Trinity College Library Burlington Vermont and Mark Skinner Library, Manchester, Vermont. The Mark Skinner Library, the last to hold this map, closed its doors in 2014 and is now a fine dining restaurant. Map and all other fold-out illustrations are laid down on older linen. Most exhibit wear on old fold lines. Map exhibits minor damage along centerfold. Size x Inches. A fine example of Thomas Conder's 1789 map of the American colonies and the accompanying 2-volume Thomas Anburey travelogue. The fascinating work, Travels Through the Interior Parts of America. In a Series of Letters. By an Officer , records Anburey's travels in Canada and the former British Colonies in North America. A Closer Look - A Map and a Travelogue The map depicts from Casco Bay in Maine south to Norfolk and the James River and from Stanton, Virginia, east to the Atlantic Ocean. Created to accompany Anburey's book, the map highlights 6 marches (listed at top-left) he made during his time in the American Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Anburey's book consists of a series of letters from before landing in Canada through the Saratoga Campaign, his captivity as a prisoner of war, his parole, and his return to England. Chronologically, the first route highlights the marches of the British Army during the Saratoga Campaign, when Anbury served as an officer under General John Burgoyne. After Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, Anburey became part of the Convention Army, the remnants of Burgoyne's troops (nearly 6,000 at the outset), that were marched to and fro throughout the colonies in the following years, suffering from disease and miserable conditions in the process, until the conflict's end. However, unlike rank-and-file troops, as an officer, Anburey was included as part of a prisoner exchange in 1781 and returned to England. Aside from the marches, towns, settlements, and forts are noted throughout, including those that were significant to the conflict, such as Valley Forge, Fort Ticonderoga, and Saratoga. Mountains are illustrated, and major waterways are labeled, often with spellings that would become atypical in the following years (such as 'Potowmack River'). The decorative cartouche at bottom-right presents a Native American resting with a musket, gesturing towards a ship off the coast, sailing away (perhaps a representation of Britain's flagging prospects in the New World), and a group of soldiers (presumably British, perhaps Anburey's woebegone Convention Army) at right. Controversy From the time of publication, the veracity of Anburey's account has been questioned. The subscriber's list was noted as being decidedly anti-American, noted The Monthly Review , which also cited a passage that was lifted wholesale from the Annual Register , a yearly record of history, literature, and politics. Another publication, The Critical Review , stated, 'From a careful comparison we can pronounce this work, in its most essential parts, to be an ill-digested plagiarism from general Burgoyne's Narrative, and from the Account of the Prosecution of Colonel Henley.' Anburey also 'borrowed' liberally from Andrew Burnaby's Travels through the Middle Settlements in North-America , the Narrative of John F. D. Smyth . However, these early charges were mainly ignored, and the book became an essential source concerning Burgoyne's American expedition. Over time, scholars revived questions about the authenticity of Anburey's writing. In a 1943 study, Whitfield Bell found over 60 'borrowed' passages from over a dozen sources. Canonical texts su.

Seller Inventory # TravelsAmerica-anburey-1789

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Map for the Interior Travels through America delineating the March of the Army. / Travels through the interior parts of America. In a series of letters. By an officer.
• Publication Date: 1789
• Seller catalogs:
  • UNITED-STATES-MAPS