|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other map pages:[ Locations | Map themes & related | Cartographers ]
[ Views of Pennsylvania | Maps of Pennsylvania Counties ]
When William Penn received a grant from Charles II for the 45,000 square miles of land now called Pennsylvania, he was the recipient of huge potential wealth. For this wealth to be realized, Penn had to sell parcels of his land to new settlers. Not only would this raise cash, but it would increase the value of the land that remained in Penn's hands. Like any savvy developer, Penn used various means to publicize the sale of property in his grant. One of the most effective was a printed promotional brochure which included a map of the projected town of Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love." Penn envisioned his town as a mile wide band extending two miles from the Delaware River to the Schuylkill River. Penn had his surveyor general, Thomas Holme, make up a plan for the town, which Holme did with a simple, yet elegant grid of streets enhanced by the regular placement of five parks. Once the map of the city of Philadelphia was completed, Holmes set out to produce a map of the territory west of the city. The resulting large, seven sheet wall map, encompassed southeastern Pennsylvania from Bucks County to New Castle County, and included the original grid plan for Philadelphia. This impressive cartographic document was published in 1687.
Within a few years, and almost certainly before 1699, Holme produced a reduced version of this map intended to be more practical for general use. One third the size of the original, the smaller map lacks the printed description at the bottom and shows minor changes in property ownership. William Penn's goal was for his colony, both in the city and in the country, to become thoroughly developed. Toward that end, Penn made it so that purchasing land in the country automatically entitled the landowner to several lots in the city. Showing both Philadelphia and its surrounding environs, this map would have been of great use to these early Pennsylvania landowners. This is the third state of the smaller version of the Holme map, probably after Thomas Jefferys acquired the plate. It is not only historically informative and very rare, but is also one of the earliest available printed map of Philadelphia and bordering counties. $40,000
Thomas Kitchin. "A Map of the Province of Pensilvania." From London Magazine. London: R. Baldwin, December, 1756. Engraving. 6 5/8 x 8 1/2. Light, old mat stain. Very good condition. Ref.: Jolly, Lond. 112.
Beginning in 1731, monthly news magazines made their appearance in Britain. These magazines, with such names as Gentleman's Magazine and London Magazine, contained poetry, prose, and articles on events, fashions, personalities, and other items of the day that might be of interest to the English gentleman. One of their most popular, and historically important, features was the inclusion of prints and maps to accompany their articles. This early map of the Province of Pennsylvania was issued the year when the French and Indian War was formally declared between England and France, resulting from the conflict that had arisen in 1754 and 1755 in and around the Forks of the Ohio in western Pennsylvania. While early in the war the British were on the offensive primarily in upper New York and Quebec, the large colonies of Virginia and Pennsylvania were clearly of equal strategic value. Indian raids had begun to push into the western reaches of Pennsylvania and the French were trying to strengthen their position there, making this region a clear future theater for the war. This map shows the early trails and settlements in the western part of the colony, including Christopher Gist's cabin northwest of Fort Cumberland. Also shown are forts, both British and French, including F. du Quesne. Much information is given about the Indian controlled areas, and the border with New York, drawn through the middle of present-day New York State, is indicated as "not yet settled." Near the banks of the Upper Allegheny River is one of the earliest designations for the location of "petroleum" in North America. $450
Nicholas Scull. "…Map of the improved Part of the Province of Pennsylvania…" Philadelphia: N. Scull, January 1, 1759. Separately issued "saddle-bag" map, dissected in 24 sections and mounted on linen. With original slip-case. 30 1/4 x 60. Engraving by James Turner. Early hand color. Excellent condition. Framed to museum standards with UV-filtering glazing.
A superb example of one of most important American made maps of the eighteenth century, the first map exclusively of the province of Pennsylvania. The map is the work of Nicholas Scull II, a cartographer and surveyor, who followed his father into the profession. In 1719, Nicholas became deputy surveyor of Philadelphia County, served as sheriff in the early 1740s and then ascended to the Surveyor Generalship of Pennsylvania in 1748. Most infamously, he was an official observer of the Walking Purchase of 1737 and offered testimony twenty years later at a hearing to determine the fairness of the procedure. Historians have speculated that this testimony, which favored proprietors Thomas and Richard Penn, is what earned Scull the funding for his seminal map of Pennsylvania.
Dedicated to the Penns, Scull's was the first map to document just the province of Pennsylvania, taking in the vast range of "improved" territory from the Delaware River to the Allegheny Mountains. Drawing on the reports of Major Joseph Shippen, Colonel John Armstrong, John Watson and others for cartographic information, Scull borrowed aesthetic elements from the work of Lewis Evans, whose style of pyramidal shaded mountain ranges appear in neat, single rows on Scull's map. Here, many features appear for the first time, including Indian paths and settlements as well as forts, iron forges, meetinghouses, inns, and gentleman's seats. Once he had finished drawing his seminal map, Scull, a founding member of Franklin's Junto, turned it over to another of Franklin's protégés, an engraver named James Turner. Turner completed the work in Philadelphia, making this the first map of Pennsylvania to be printed in America. Any map published in America in the mid-eighteenth century is rare, but especially "saddle-bag" maps like this one, intended for carrying around and using. In every sense, this scarce map represents an important moment in the history of cartography. $110,000
William Scull. "A Map of Pennsylvania..." London: Sayer & Bennett, 1775. 26 3/4 x 53. Engraving. Original color. Very good condition. Ristow, American Maps and Mapmakers, p. 53; Hansen, Pennsylvania Prints, Item 2.
A strong, attractive example of William Scull's seminal map of Pennsylvania, a map often referred to as the 'Revolutionary War map' of the state. The information depicted on the map is far and away the most comprehensive and accurate for any map of Pennsylvania to that date, and for years thereafter; a fact that in part reflects its history. In 1759, Nicolas Scull, the Surveyor General of Pennsylvania and William Scull's grandfather, issued a map of the eastern parts of Pennsylvania commissioned by the colony's government. This was based to a great extent upon Nicolas' surveys and other first hand information, making it the standard for all subsequent maps. About ten years later, William Scull produced an updated map of Pennsylvania, basing it upon his grandfather's map as well as on his own new surveys and other information. The first edition of this map, issued in small numbers, is extremely scarce and valuable. Five years later, Sayer and Bennett issued this further updated edition in Jefferys North American Atlas of 1775. $5,200
"Sketch of Fayette's Position at Barren Hill." From Stedman's The History of the Origin, Progress, and Termination of the American War. London: J. Murray & al., 1794. Engraving. 8 1/2 x 6 5/8. Slight mat browning. Else fine. Ref.: Stevens & Tree 21b, Nebenzahl 139, and Sabin 91057.
Generally there are two broad categories of contemporary maps of the American Revolution, those that were issued within about six months of the events depicted, and those issued after that but before the end of the century. (J.B. Harley et al., Mapping the American Revolutionary War, p. 93ff.) The former type played a role as news maps, but the latter were issued after the events depicted were well known to their intended audience. These maps, many of which are the only contemporary published maps of the events shown, played a role in the analysis and commentary on the war subsequent to its finish. These maps were issued in magazines, as separate publications, in narratives by generals, and as part of histories of the war. One such history of the war was issued by Charles Stedman in his The History of the Origin, Progress, and Termination of the American War. Stedman was a loyalist from Philadelphia who issued his work in London in 1794. This is considered to be amongst the best contemporary accounts of the Revolution. "For years, the British author Charles Stedman's History ... provided the most useful military text and maps of that war." (Ibid, p.112). This printing is the only appearance of the scarce map of a suburb of Philadelphia, an area which would have been familiar to Stedman. $450
Joseph T. Scott. "Pennsylvania." From United States Gazetteer. Philadelphia: J. Scott, 1795. First state. 6 1/8 x 7 3/8. Engraving by J. Scott. With some old stains at bottom. Otherwise, very good condition. Wheat & Brun: 444
This is one of the earliest American maps of Pennsylvania, from the first American gazetteer. Joseph T. Scott, a Philadelphia engraver and publisher, issued his gazetteer during the early days of American cartography, and the maps of the individual states and territories are very good. Scott included much detail of rivers, counties, roads, and towns. This map of Pennsylvania, Scott's home state, was particularly detailed, showing many of the major sites, such as Pittsburgh and Fort Franklin, in the western part of the state. As an early example of American cartography and an fascinating document of Pennsylvania history, this is a gem. $350
George H.V. Collot. "Plan of the Town of Pittsburgh." From Georges H.V. Collot's A Voyages dans l'Amerique Septentrionale. Paris, [1796]-1826. 7 1/2 x 11. Engraving by Antoine Francois Tardieu. Lined with linen. Very good condition.
An important and rare map of Pittsburgh drawn in 1796, showing the nascent city and forts located at the conjunction of the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio Rivers. The map was issued in General Georges Collot's, Voyages dans l'Amerique Septentrionale, which reported on his expedition through the interior of North America. This was taken at the instigation of the French Minister to the United States, Pierre Augustus Adet, who asked Collot to create "a minute detail of the political, commercial, and military state of the Western part" of the country. Adet was in general interested in the situation in America, but he supposedly also had plans to attack the Spanish in their possessions of Louisiana and Florida so Collot's survey was of military interest to the French as well. Collot traveled along the waterways leading from the Great Lakes to the mouth of the Mississippi, mapping and making drawings of the sites he passed. Collot's survey was the most detailed and accurate of the western interior of North America at that time, but because of political considerations Collot's account and plates, which were printed in 1805, were not issued until two decades later. Published in 1826, the journal--issued simultaneously in French and English editions--included an atlas of 36 maps and views. Interestingly, it is recorded that all but 100 of the English and 300 of the French volumes were deliberately destroyed just after the publication. Thus these important plates are extremely scarce, making them amongst the most sought after images of America. This map represents the earliest printed depiction of Pittsburgh with such detail. The ruins of the original Port Pitt are shown at the point, with the newer Fort Lafayette placed further up stream along the Allegheny. The street plan of Pittsburgh, with streets set up parallel to both rivers, is mapped out; the blocks along the Monongahela are shown well developed, with far fewer buildings indicated in the streets along the Allegheny. The hilly terrain further inland clearly depicted and a lettered key identifies various sites. Though published in 1824 to 1826, this map has its roots and history in the eighteenth century. $4,800
Go to Collot map of the upper Ohio River, including Pittsburgh
Reading Howell. "A Map of the State of Pennsylvania." Philadelphia: Kimber & Conrad & Jonson & Warner, 1811. Separately issued map; dissected into 32 sections and mounted onto linen for folding. 21 1/2 x 34 1/4. Engraving by J. Vallance. Original outline color. With some staining. Sections lifting in a few places, but intact and overall very good condition.
A very rare, "saddle bag" map of Pennsylvania, from the first updated nineteenth century version of Howell's important map of Pennsylvania, initially issued in 1792. Howell had already begun to survey parts of Pennsylvania when, in 1790, he was commissioned by the state to compile an official map of the entire state. This resulted in his seminal map of 1792, a large map produced in four sheets, was the best map of Pennsylvania issued in the 18th century and the first map to correctly delineate its borders. Howell's map was reissued several times, as late as 1817, and it formed the basis for most maps of Pennsylvania in the early nineteenth century, for it was the best depiction of the state until Melish's large state map of 1822. At about the same time, Howell also issued a reduced version of his map, which was reissued twice again in the 18th century. In 1811, Howell produced an updated version of this reduced map, published by Kimber & Conrad & Jonson & Warner, which was slightly enlarged and much more detailed than the 18th century small map.
Howell's map was the first to show the full extent of Pennsylvania, with accurate state and county borders indicated. On this updated map from 1811, topography is precisely drawn, and roads, towns, and important buildings are carefully delineated. In the upper right corner is the dedication cartouche, nicely decorated with an agricultural motif. It states, "To The Governor and Legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania this Map is Respectfully inscribed by the Author." In the lower right is the title cartouche, surrounded by a vignette illustrating different aspects of the state and including the state crest. In the lower left is a fine drawing of the "Schuylkill permanent Bridge," no longer standing in 1811. This example of the map was issued so that it could be folded and carried. As such it is rarer than the standard version and also would have almost certainly have seen considerable use by its early owners. A rare and seminal document of Pennsylvania history. $5,200
Mathew Carey. "Pennsylvania." Philadelphia: M. Carey & son, 1814. 11 1/2 x 18 1/4. Engraving. Original outline color. Very good condition.
An important map of Pennsylvania by Mathew Carey, one of the seminal figures in early American Cartography. Published during the War of 1812, this map is from Carey's Atlas which represented the best American cartographic work of the period. Carey, an Irish immigrant, established the first American specialized cartographic publishing firm. He set up an elaborate cottage system of craftsmen for engraving, printing, and coloring his maps utilizing the best independent artists directed to a common end. Carey is important, then, not only for the excellent maps he produced, but for his setting the pattern for American map publishing, to be followed by the likes of John Melish and Henry S. Tanner. This map of Pennsylvania, Carey's home state, is a fine example of his work. Topographical information is neatly portrayed, including towns, rivers, mountains, and roads. The counties are named and indicated by light pastel coloring. Longitude is given both with a prime meridian at London and at Philadelphia. $825
John Melish. "Map of the National Road between Cumberland and Wheeling." From A Geographical Description of the United States. Philadelphia: Melish, 1822. Engraving. 5 3/4 x 10 3/4. On thin tissue paper, with folds as issued. Very good condition.
An early printed American road map, showing the "national road" running from Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River, to Wheeling, on the Ohio River, crossing mostly through the southern part of Pennsylvania. John Melish was the first American publisher to issue exclusively cartographic and geographic items. Born in Scotland, Melish visited the U. S. several times beginning in 1806, finally settling there in 1811. Making many notes on his travels about the country, in 1812 he published Travels in the United States of America, which included his first maps. He came to dominate the industry in this country and had a huge impact on all subsequent American mapping. Beginning in 1816, Melish issued his Geographical Description, which contained extensive information about the entire United States and surrounding regions. In 1822, Melish issued an expanded edition, which included 12 engraved regional maps of considerable note. The earliest traces of the National Road were recorded in 1754-55 when Braddock's expedition used this route to approach Fort Duquesne. The road was authorized and financed by the U.S. Congress in 1806 and completed to Wheeling, Virginia, now West Virginia, in 1818. Wheeling was then the major jumping off place for the many immigrants to the burgeoning mid-western part of the country, opened up after the War of 1812. Though the road passed over several steep ridges (nicely shown with hatchuring), and through extensive forests, a number of settlements and towns such as Washington and Union developed along its length. $325
"Pennsylvania." From A Complete Historical, Chronological, and Geographical American Atlas. Philadelphia: H.C. Carey & I. Lea, 1822-1825. 12 x 17 3/4 (map); 16 3/4 x 20 1/2 (full sheet). Very good condition.
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. The sheets from this atlas are comprised of an engraved map surrounded by text documenting the history, climate, population and so forth of the area depicted. This map of Pennsylvania shows excellent and very up-to-date detail, with the river systems particularly well mapped, and the development of the state is graphically illustrated, with towns and roads depicted throughout the state. $575
Henry S. Tanner. "Map of Pennsylvania and New Jersey." From New American Atlas. Philadelphia: H.S. Tanner, 1823. 20 1/2 x 27. Engraving by "H.S. Tanner & Assistants." Full original color. Slight separation and foldover at centerfold. Non-acidic mending tape on verso. Else good condition.
An impressive and important American map of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. From Tanner's seminal American Atlas, which was a monument in the early history of American cartography. Its format and 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 this established Tanner in his subsequent position as the leading American cartographic publisher. The state maps, all but two showing two states on a sheet, are wonderful historic documents of an important and dynamic period of American history. Tanner used Washington D.C. as the prime meridian; as he explains in the introduction to the atlas, this was primarily because of a lack of an accepted European prime meridian. Each state is carefully mapped, using the most up-to-date information of physical features, towns, roads, trails, political boundaries, and other cultural details. This map of Pennsylvania and New Jersey is typical of the quality of the maps from the atlas. $1,450
Fielding Lucas, Jr. "Pennsylvania." From A General Atlas. Baltimore: F. Lucas, Jr., 1823. 11 1/4 x 17 3/4. Engraving. Full original hand color. Full margins. Very good condition.
An early map of Pennsylvania by Baltimore cartographer Fielding Lucas, Jr. (1781- 1854). Lucas appears to have become involved in the publishing and book trade while a resident of Philadelphia from 1798 to 1804, when he moved to Baltimore. In 1807 Lucas joined Conrad, Lucas & Co., and then in 1810 he set up his own business at 138 Market Street. In the second decade of the nineteenth century, through his Philadelphia contacts, Lucas was one of the major contributors to Carey & Lea's atlas of 1823. Concurrently with this involvement, Lucas brought out his own General Atlas, containing 104 maps of all parts of the world, engraved by B.T. Welch & Co. of Baltimore and Young & Delleker of Philadelphia. These maps are amongst his finest works, and they well demonstrate the quality that Lucas brought to this nascent industry. The map of Pennsylvania with its early date and interesting information, is a fine example of Lucas' work. The river systems in the state are well delineated, and the towns and road system are also shown with exacting detail. Beautifully engraved and colored, this is an excellent map of the state by an important American cartographer. $650
J. Yeager, sc. “Pennsylvania. Canals, Railroads, the Coal Regions, and Numberof Inhabitants in each County of the State.” Credit reads, “Engraved for the Casket Published by S. C. Atkinson.” Philadelphia: S.C. Atkinson, 1826-36. 8 1/4 x 11 1/4 (neat lines) plus margins. Engraving (hand colored). Printed on bank note paper. Former folds evident as issued. Conserved.
This small map of Pennsylvania is crammed with information on population of counties, distances by steamboats, topography, and political districts all surrounded by elegant borders provided by the famous engraver Joseph Yeager. The map once graced a monthly issue of The Casket: Flowers of Literature Wit and Sentiment (Philadelphia, 1826-36) that was published by Samuel C. Atkinson and Charles Alexander. Obviously a lesson in local geography was a necessary part of the education of polite society at the time. $275
Go to page 2, maps of Pennsylvania
Go to page of rare books of Pennsylvania, including some with folding maps
Go to page of views of Pennsylvania
For more information call, write, fax or e-mail to:
8441 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118 USA
(215) 242-4750 [Phone]
(215) 242-6977 [Fax]
PhilaPrint@PhilaPrintShop.com
©The Philadelphia Print Shop, Ltd. Last updated January 12, 2010
Place Order 
