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A mid-century map of the western part of the United States, one of the first maps to show the state of California and the territories of Utah and New Mexico. The map is an updated version of a map that appeared in S. Augustus Mitchell's Universal Atlas of 1849. The southern part of the region shown in that map, "Upper California," had just been won from Mexico in 1848, and Mitchell's map was important for presenting the vast new U.S. territories to the American public. In 1850, the rights to Mitchell's atlas were sold to the firm of Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co., which reissued the atlas with some updating. That year the newly acquired lands were divided by Congress into the state of California and two territories, Utah and New Mexico; Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co. revised the Mitchell map accordingly.
Besides the new political information that appeared on this map, what had appeared on the 1849 map as the "Great Interior Basin" is now somewhat filled in based on Fremont's map, renamed "Fremont Basin." Other topographical features included considerable orography, rivers, and lakes. The Great Salt Lake is shown, next to which is "Salt Lake City. Mormon Set.," which had just been settled in 1847. Early settlements and a coastal road are illustrated in California, and the old Spanish trail between Santa Fe and Los Angeles is also indicated. Of further interest is the prominent depiction of the Oregon Trail, shown snaking from present-day Colorado to the Columbia River. The entire region north of Utah and California appears as the Oregon Territory, which it remained until the Washington Territory was created in 1853. Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co. continued to revise this map, for in 1851 they came out with a further up-dated map retitled "A New Map of the State of California…" and with more information provided on the counties of the territories and state. This is a fascinating and historical important map, one of the first to show the new political situation in the west after the Compromise of 1850. $875
"Map No. 10. United States." From Roswell C. Smith's A Precise and Practical System of Geography. New York: Burgess & Co., 1853. 10 1/4 x 8 7/8. Lithograph. Original hand color. Very good condition. Denver.
A small but interesting map of the configuration on the western U.S. shortly after gold was discovered in California. Shows Washington and Oregon extending from the Pacific to the crest of the Rockies, and Utah and New Mexico extending from California to the Rockies. Nebraska and the North West Territory are shown in part. $150
"North America Sheet XV. Utah, New Mexico, Texas, California, &c. and the Northern States of Mexico." London: Edward Stanford, 1853? 12 1/2 x 15 1/4. Engraving by J. & C. Walker. Full hand color. Very good condition. Phillips Atlases: 811.
An updated SDUK map of the American southwest, and the northern parts of Mexico, showing the region in the form it took following the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The SDUK was very concerned about keeping their maps up-to-date and this map is, if anything, a bit ahead of its time. An earlier version, entitled "Central America, Sheet II," was issued in 1842, but many changes had taken place in the preceding decade. The Mexican American War had added Texas and the American Southwest to the United States, which was broken into California, and the Utah and New Mexico Territories with the Compromise of 1850, with Texas taking its current borders. For the Great Plains, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 established two new territories, with an unorganized "Indian Territory" located just north of Texas. This is the configuration shown here, indicating either that this map was actually issued in 1854, or that the publisher anticipated the passage of the 1854 Act by one year. In any case, this is a very current and graphic image of the American southwest in the years just before the Civil War. $550
Carl Flemming. "Californien, Oregon, Utah und Neu-Mejico." From Heinrich Berghaus's Vollständiger Universal-Handatlas. Glogau, Germany: C. Flemming, 1854. 15 1/2 x 13 5/8. Lithograph by C. Flemming. Original outline color. Very good condition. Denver.
Carl Flemming was the founder of an important German firm located in Berlin and Glogau and this map shows characteristic German detail. Germans were very interested in the western parts of the United States at this time and the atlas from which this map came contained not only two maps of the United States as a whole-one single sheet and one four part map-but also a number of regional maps including this one of the region to the west of the Rocky Mountains. The topography is graphic but quite confused. The entire region is shown consisting only of California and the three territories of Oregon-which encompass the entire northwest corner-Utah and New Mexico. $475
"Utah, New Mexico and California." Wood engraving from unknown 1854 publication. 4 5/8 x 8. Very good condition. Denver. $55
"Territories of New Mexico and Utah." New York: J.H. Colton, 1855. 11 5/8 x 14 5/8. Lithograph. Full original hand color. Very good condition. Wheat: 832.
A fine map of the territories of New Mexico and Utah, recently established in 1850, shown before the creation of Nevada (1861) and Arizona (1863). The map is filled with interesting information, such as the routes of the explorers Fremount, Stansbury, Kearney and Gunnison (noting that "Capt. Gunnison Killed by Indians"), proposed routes for the transcontinental railroad, the Spanish Trail and the Oregon Route. Also indicated are forts, Indian tribes, and political divisions.
"A New Map of the State of California, The Territories of Oregon, Washington, Utah & New Mexico." Philadelphia: Charles Desilver, 1856. 16 x 12 3/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. Very good condition. Denver.
Charles Desilver, one of the many publishers working in Philadelphia during the mid-nineteenth century, issued an atlas of maps based on the famous Tanner-Mitchell-Cowperthwait series. Desilver used much the same information as originally drawn in the 1840s, but updated the maps with new counties, roads, towns, etc. Here the country west of the Rockies is depicted with the state of California and the rest comprised of just four territories: Washington, Oregon, Utah and New Mexico. Settlement in those territories was quite sparse at the time, with some cities shown, and a number of counties developed in the western part of the northern most territories. The map was issued just after the Gadsden Treaty (1854) so the current southern border with Mexico is depicted. Of note are depictions of the southern route proposed for the Pacific Railroad, the Spanish trail from Santa Fe to Los Angeles, the routes of Lewis & Clark and Fremont, and the Oregon Trail. Forts are indicated, as are the territories of various Indian tribes. Of interest is the small section entitled "Middle Park," which is shown as part of Utah, but which is currently part of Colorado (the western part of which is shown as part of Kansas Territory. Overall, a terrific and up-to-date map of the western United States. $650
"A New Map of Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico and Indian Territories." Philadelphia: Charles Desilver, 1856. 16 x 13. Lithograph. Original hand color. Very good condition. Denver.
In the years between the Mexican-American War and the Civil War, the Great Plains were the scene of considerable development, as American moved into and across this region, heading to the west coast or settling in this area previously occupied almost exclusively by Native Americans. The pressure to form territorial governments led to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which established these two territories to the north of the Indian Territories (now Oklahoma). This rare map focuses on the middle of the country, showing from northern Texas to the Canadian border, and from the Missouri River to the Rio Colorado. The detail is impressive, including rivers, orography, settlements, and "Military & Trading Posts." Also indicated are Fremont's and Lewis & Clark's routes, the Oregon Trail, the Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to Los Angeles, and the proposed routes for the planned Pacific Railroad. Indian tribes are indicated through-out. This is one of the few maps to show this seminal region of the period and as Desilver's atlases are quite scarce, this map is most desirable. $575
A.J. Johnson. "Johnson's California with Utah, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona." New York: Johnson & Ward, 1864. 16 3/4 x 23 1/2. Lithograph. Full original color. Some staining and repaired tears, back on rice paper. Otherwise, good condition. Denver.
One example of several maps published by Johnson during a short period in the 1860s showing swift changes in the borders of states and territories in the western U.S., this map shows the states in a configuration similar to what is familiar in the 21st century. The exception is that the southeast corner of present-day Nevada (below the 37th parallel), is indicated as part of Arizona. An interesting view of the American southwest during a period of rapid change. $325
"Colton's Map of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona & New Mexico." New York: G.W. and C.B. Colton & Co., 1866. 16 3/4 x 26. Lithograph. Original hand color. Repaired separation at centerfold. Trimmed into decorative border, as issued in atlas. Otherwise, very good condition. Denver.
A fascinating map of the southwestern part of the United States by the Colton firm of New York City, issued just after the Civil War. This was a period when the American west was really opening up for settlers and this map captures the region at a very early stage of its development. When issued, the territories had taken on the shape that the states have today, though in this early version of the Colton map of the region Nevada's southern tip is shown as part of Arizona. Detail or topography is very good, but it is the social information that is so interesting. Towns, forts (, Indian tribes, passes, explorer routes, the pony express, and early trails (e.g. "Emigrant Road") are all depicted. Of particular note are the indications of early railroads, both proposed and existing, including the proposed route of the "Pacific R.R." California, in contrast to the territories, is shown extensively developed, with many counties, towns, and a network of roads and rail lines. $350
"Sketch of Public Surveys in New Mexico & Arizona." Washington: General Land Office, 1866. 20 3/4 x 28. Lithograph. Original hand color. Mounted on linen. With some light discoloration on one fold. Narrow top left margin, as issued. Otherwise, very good condition. Wheat: 1153. Denver.
The U.S. General Land Office (GLO) was established in 1812 with responsibility to survey and control the dispersal of public lands. All public land was required to be surveyed prior to settlement, and the first director of the GLO, Thomas Hutchins, set up a systematic process of rectangular survey for the public lands and launched the great national project to survey and map the public domain in the entire country, a procedure which got under way in the famous "seven ranges" of southeast Ohio. Each surveyor was to record not only geography, but also features of the landscape with economic import, such as roads, Indian 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 to 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 in a few atlases that combined all the current maps in progress. These maps produced by the GLO are the most accurate and detailed maps of the U.S., 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 state and county maps in the second part of the nineteenth century. This is the 1866 map of Arizona and New Mexico, issued just three years after Arizona was created out of the western part of the New Mexico territory. The details of Indian tribes and settlements, townships, private land claims, topography, roads, and mines is impressive and fascinating. There was no better mapping of this area at the time and indeed this mapping was the basis for most other maps that followed. $675
S. Augustus Mitchell Jr. "Arizona and New Mexico." Philadelphia: S. Augustus Mitchell, Jr., 1867. 11 3/8 x 14. Lithograph. Original hand color. Small spot above Arizona, otherwise very good condition.
For most of the middle part of the nineteenth century, the firm founded by S. Augustus Mitchell dominated American cartography in output and influence. This fine map is from one of his son's atlases, and is an early depiction of the Arizona and New Mexico territories in the 1860s. Towns, forts, rivers, wagon routes and trails, railroads and other topographical information are clearly shown. Indian tribal land is shaded with contrasting pastel colors. A fine decorative border surrounds the map, and the whole effect makes for an attractive mid-nineteenth century map. $195
"The Pacific States and Territories." 1877. 10 7/8 x 8 3/4. Lithograph. Original color. Very good condition. Denver.
Illustrates Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California. $45
"New Mexico and Arizona." Philadelphia: O.W. Gray & Son, 1881. 11 1/2 x 14 3/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. Very good condition.
An interesting map of these two southwestern territories (both admitted as states in 1912). Arizona had been split off from the original, larger New Mexico territory in 1863 and this map shows the region as it was beginning to develop after the Civil War. Towns, counties and forts are shown throughout. Of particular interest is the information on the railroads in the territory, both proposed and existing. The Southern Pacific is depicted as extending past Tucson to just east of Fort Bowie, while another line is shown running south from Trinidad, Colorado, through Albuquerque to Fort McRae.
Mexico shown on reverse. $125
"Tunison's New Mexico." Jacksonville, Illinois: H.C. Tunison, 1885. Wax engraving. Original color. 12 1/4 x 9 3/4. Very good condition.
A handsome map of New Mexico from Tunison's Peerless Universal Atlas. With the development of wax engraving (cerography), more maps and atlases were able to be produced in cities beyond the major centers of New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. Henry C. Tunison issued a series of fine atlases beginning in 1885 and lasting into the beginning of the twentieth century. This shows New Mexico at an important and turbulent period of its history. In 1883 the outlaw Billy the Kid was killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett near Fort Sumter, and in the same year that this map was produced Geronimo, the Apache cheif, led an uprising against U.S. troops. This up to date map showing the newly formed Sierra County is an excellent snap-shot of the territory at this time. The Washington and Utah Territories are shown on the reverse. $125
"County and Township Map of Arizona and New Mexico." Philadelphia: W.M. Bradley & Bros., 1886. 13 7/8 x 21 3/4. Very good condition.
A highly detailed map from the Philadelphia publishing firm of William M. Bradley & Bro.. While Philadelphia was no longer the main center of cartographic publishing in North America by the late nineteenth century, many fine maps were still produced there, as is evidence by this map. Topography, political information, towns, roads and physical features are all presented neatly and clearly. This map in particular shows how extensive and well-developed the plat system had become in the western territories of the U.S. $165
"New Mexico." From Gaskell's Atlas of the World. Chicago: Unknown, 1887. 12 1/4 x 9 7/8. Engraving. A colorful map with full borders. Very good condition.
Towns, railroads, topography and more are all clearly presented on this detailed map. The thirteen counties at the time are shown in contrasting pastel shades. Indian reservations are also drawn out, with borders shown by colored dashed lines. Washington on reverse. $45
"New Mexico." Chicago: Geo F. Cram, 1887. 12 x 10 1/4. Wax engraving. Very good condition.
A colorful, detailed map of New Mexico from the latter part of the nineteenth century. The George Cram Company was an engraving and publishing firm from Chicago. In the mid-nineteenth century, the center of cartographic publishing was New York City, but in the 1880's this began to shift towards Chicago with the advent of the Rand, McNally and Cram firms. These firms were noted for their efficient output of precise maps filled with useful and up-to-date political and cultural information, and details on roads, towns, railroads, and so forth.
"New Mexico Railroads." From Rand, McNally & Co.'s Indexed Atlas of the World. Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co., 1906. 18 3/4 x 12 3/8. Very good condition.
Large, colorful atlas map of New Mexico detailing roads, railroad lines and topography, and includes an index of major railroads operating within the state. $70
Lloyd Edwin Smith. "New Mexico." From the Centennial Atlas of the World. Ed. by Frederick J. Branom. Chicago: Geographical Publishing Company, 1931. 20 7/8 x 15. Folio. Chromolithograph. Excellent condition.
A large, attractive and detailed map of the state from the early part of the twentieth century. Location index to towns and counties, with census data, on reverse. Full, but narrow margins. $65
See also maps of Western America
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