Atlases

American Atlases
Page 2

[ Page one American atlases | Page three American atlases | European atlases ]

The Universal Atlas

Henry Schenck Tanner's American Atlas of 1823 is a monument in the early history of American cartography. Its format, size, and detail made it probably the first American-made atlas to equal the work of the best European firms. The atlas was well received and helped to establish Tanner in his subsequent position as the leading American cartographic publisher of the day. It also inspired Tanner to produce an atlas of a more manageable size, his Universal Atlas of 1836. The atlas contained excellent maps of the entire world and of each individual state, with all details clearly presented and up-to-date. Though smaller, this atlas had a profound impact on American map and atlas making for much of the rest of the century. The atlas was reissued by Tanner several times until 1842, after which the rights were purchased by Carey & Hart. They issued editions in 1843 and 1844, and then decided to use lithographic transfers from the original engraved maps for their 1845 edition.

The following year, the rights to this lithographic atlas were purchased by S. Augustus Mitchell, who published the atlas in regularly updated versions to 1849. In 1846, Mitchell issued two versions of the atlas, one of which was labeled on the cover as "Tanner's Universal Atlas" and the other "Mitchell's Universal Atlas." These two atlases are virtually identical. In the first, "Tanner" issue, the map titles usually state they are by "H.S. Tanner." The copyright imprints are the same as the earlier maps, viz. they mostly name either H.S. Tanner or Carey & Hart, and give the dates of the original engraved maps. It appears that Mitchell, when he got the rights to the atlas, put out the atlas as quickly as possible without any changes, then started going through and making the changes to differentiate his edition. In the second "Mitchell" issue, the copyright imprints have been changed to H.N. Burroughs and the maps have an 1845 or 1846 date. Also Tanner's name was removed from under the titles, which now reads, "Published by S. Augustus Mitchell." Geographically and otherwise, the two versions issued in 1846 are identical.

H.S. Tanner. A New Universal Atlas Containing Maps of the various Empires, Kingdoms, States and Republics of the World. Philadelphia: S. Augustus Mitchell, 1846. First edition, first issue. Folio. Original three-quarters red leather with marbled boards and gold stamped label on front. Binding with wear at corners and on spine, but intact. Interior paper time toned with some spotting and light water stains. Complete with 72 lithographed maps and chart transferred from engravings. Rich original color. Some manuscript notations on fly-leaves and title page. About 1/3rd of the maps with neat manuscript notes in margins. Some maps with small relevant clippings glued on: New Hampshire & Vermont-remnants of glued paper; New Jersey-two pieces of paper; Virginia-small ink spot in middle, and remnants of glued paper; Illinois-remnants of glued paper; Wisconsin-two glued clippings; Ireland-glued paper. Overall, typically time toned sheets, with considerable evidence of use, but generally very good. Phillips: 3553; Rumsey: 2623.
A well-loved first issue of S. Augustus Mitchell's 1846 edition of the Universal Atlas, still carrying the Tanner name on the title page and maps. $9,750
[ Click here for images: title page | New York City | Texas ]
S. Augustus Mitchell. A Universal Atlas. Containing Maps of the various Empires, Kingdoms, States and Republics of the World. Philadelphia: S.A. Mitchell, 1846. First edition, second issue. Folio. Original three-quarters leather, with gold stamped title label. With considerable wear, but intact. Manuscript writing on inside cover and front flyleaf. Complete with 72 lithographed maps and chart transferred from engravings. Bright, original hand color. Paper time toned and some soiling in margins, but better than often found with this atlas. Maps of Philadelphia and Indiana with small stains. Map of Michigan with 5" tear in from bottom. Otherwise, very good condition. Phillips: 6103; Rumsey: 537.
This is the second Mitchell issue of 1846, with Tanner's name removed from the atlas and maps, and Mitchell's substituted instead. $9,500 [ Click here for images: title page | United States ]
S. Augustus Mitchell. A New Universal Atlas Containing Maps of the various Empires, Kingdoms, States and Republics of the World. Philadelphia: Charles Desilver, 1857. Folio. Original three-quarters leather and gold stamped title, but with considerable wear and some separation at hinges. Lithographed title with large vignette. Complete to table of contents with 76 lithographed maps, charts and a city plan. Original hand color. Typical Desilver borders. With some scattered spotting on first ten or so maps, and one stain in map of Europe transferring partly to next two maps. Otherwise, interior is very clean and bright. Phillips: 823; Rumsey: 2514.
In 1850, the New Universal Atlas was taken over by Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co., which by 1855 had become Cowperthwait, Desilver & Butler. Subsequently, one of the partners, Charles Desilver, acquired the rights to the atlas and issued editions until 1858, when a final edition of this venerable atlas was issued by Cushing & Bailey. Each of the various publishers for this atlas had their own distinctive borders, and Desilver added his own border and coloring to his editions, of which this is a very good example. $6,500
[ Click here for images: title page | Michigan | Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico & Indian Territory ]

George W. Colton. Colton's Atlas Of The World, Illustrating Physical And Political Geography. New York: J.H. Colton & Co., 1855-56. 2 folio volumes. Original half leather binding with elaborate, gold-stamped boards. Wear at edges and some cracking on spine and hinges. Volume I tight, but first five maps of Volume II coming loose. With engraved and text title pages. Complete: Vol. I with 58 lithographed maps and Vol. II with 45 lithographed maps. Original hand color. Interior of Volume I with typical smudging/stains and short tears in margins from handling, but overall very good condition. Interior of Volume II very good. Phillips: 6116; Rumsey: 4179.

While American map publishing was centered in Philadelphia through the first half of the nineteenth century, around mid-century there was a shift to New York City. One of the main factors was the Colton firm, founded by Joseph Hutchins Colton in the 1830s. The Colton family, which included J.H's two sons, George W. and Charles B., began publishing atlases in 1855 with the first volume of the Atlas of the World, Volume 2 being issued the following year. There were only two editions of this atlas, which was replaced by the smaller, single volume General Atlas in 1857. The maps in this atlas are typical of the fine work done by Colton, with clear detail, bright color, and decorative borders. The atlases were regularly updated and, facilitated by the size of this two volume set, comprehensive in its depiction of the world in 1855-56. The Coltons issued their atlases during a period of great development in the American west, and each edition had updated and new maps of the states and territories there. This is a fine example of the first Colton atlas. $4,500
[ Click here for images: Nebraska and Kansas | Texas | Ireland ]

Maps Accompanying Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office. 1866. Part 2. Washington: U.S. General Land Office, 1866. Small folio. New three-quarters leather with original boards, with gold stamped title. Ex-library, with withdrawn stamp. Complete with index, table of statistics and 23 lithographed maps. Maps mounted on linen for folding into atlas, and with original outline hand-color. Very good condition. Phillips: 1388; Rumsey: 1070.

A wonderful atlas, this remarkable work contains maps issued by the U.S. General Land Office (GLO) in 1866. The GLO was established in 1812, with the responsibility of surveying and controlling the dispersal of public lands. All public land was required to be surveyed prior to settlement, and the GLO established a systematic process of rectangular survey of public lands and launched the great national project to survey and map the public domain in the entire country. Each surveyor was to record not only geography, but also features of the landscape with an economic import, such as roads, trails, existing settlements, Indian lands, mineral deposits, and of particular interest, railroads and their rights of way. Of note is that unlike most surveys of the time, the surveyors were instructed not to apply new names to the landscape, but to use "the received names of all rivers, creeks, lakes, swamps, prairies, hills, mountains and other natural objects."

By mid-century the GLO had completed most of the surveys for the lands between the Appalachians and the Mississippi, and so focused most of its attention on the American west for the rest of the century. The GLO published mostly state maps, which were issued in annual reports, bound into state atlases, and into a few atlases which combined all the current maps then in progress. These maps produced by the GLO are without doubt the most accurate and detailed maps of the U.S. at the time, based on rigorous and comprehensive surveys not hindered by commercial concerns. These maps proved very useful to private American mapmakers, and they were often the basis for commercial state and county maps in the second part of the nineteenth century.

This 1866 atlas contains the first large, colored maps from the GLO, and it was issued to accompany the annual report of 1866. The text of the report was included in part one, and part two was this atlas of 23 maps, including some of the mid-west, the southeast tier of the country, and all parts of the trans-Mississippi west. The maps range in size from about 17 x 11 inches to 28 x 56 inches. The maps of the west are especially interesting, representing the first accurate geographic picture of these states and territories. The final map is of the entire United States, with the major features clearly marked. This is a wonderful document of the remarkable GLO surveying project at the end of the Civil War. $6,500
[ Click here for images: cover | Louisiana | Arizona & New Mexico ]

Atlas To Accompany Chambers’s Encyclopædia. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1869. Quarto. Cloth binding with wear at corners. Loose and with some torn cloth at hinges. 40 maps. Some maps with minor stains and browning. Overall, good condition. Phillips: 4351a.

A Philadelphia edition of the atlas issued to accompany the encyclopedia issued by the Edinburgh firm of W. & R. Chambers. The atlas includes historical and modern maps of the continents and major countries. This edition includes a map of the western U.S. and one of the eastern U.S. The maps show clear detail, with color used to distinguish political boundaries. $175
[ Click here for images: World Map, South America Map ]

G.M. Hopkins & Co. Atlas of the City of Buffalo. Erie Co. New York. Philadelphia: G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1872. Folio. Cloth covers with considerable wear and some looseness to binding. Interior fresh and bright. Complete with city map and 29 sectional maps. Full color. Very good condition.

An excellent example of an early city atlas by the G.M. Hopkins & Co. publishing firm in Philadelphia. Wall maps of towns and cities made their appearance in the second half of the nineteenth century. As increased detail became desired, the large size of the resulting maps led publishers like Hopkins to start to produce atlases with the city maps divided into sections for easier handling and study. In this atlas Buffalo, one of the most thriving American cities of the period, is laid out with an amazing amount of detail. Streets, parks, rivers, and buildings are all indicated and named. Many individual property owners are also indicated. A fine atlas of the period. $975

Rand, McNally & Co. New Handy Atlas of the United States of America and Dominion and Canada. Chicago: Continental Publishing Co., 1884. Cloth. Octavo. Gold stamped title on cover is bright. Front cover is stained and minor warping. 128pp.

An early Rand, McNally & Co. atlas. As described in the title: "Containing New Colored Maps of Each State and Territory in the United States, with Special Maps of Provinces in the Dominion, together with full descriptive matter, Relative to the Topography, Climate, History, Population by Sex, Race and Color Etc., Etc.. Graphically illustrated by colored diagrams." Rand, McNally & Co. used cerography to make their maps (cf. Morse atlas above). $350