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J.T. Lawson. "Lawson's Map from Actual Survey of the Gold, Silver & Quicksilver Regions of Upper California. Exhibiting the Mines, Diggings, Roads, Paths, Houses, Mill, Stores, Missions &c. &c. by J.T. Lawson, Esq. Cala. Together with a miniature map of the United States, Mexico and South America. Showing the different routs [sic] to California &c. &c." New York: Dewitt & Davenport, 1849. Separately issued map on bank note paper; folded into original booklet with stamped title. 14 1/2 x 20 1/2. Lithograph by G. Snyder; "Engraved in stone by Edw. Herrlein." A few small separations at folds. Some light darkening at a few folds and stain from glue where attached to booklet. Overall, very good condition. Wheat: Maps of the California Gold Region: 108. Framed to museum standards. Denver.
An important pocket map of the California gold regions issued to year of the California gold rush. Pocket maps were issued for places people were interested in traveling to, and no place in the United States was of more interest for travelers in 1849 than the California gold regions. This map was intended for those heading to California to participate in the great gold rush. It was only the second map to be issued of just the gold fields. It contains all the information such a '49er' would need, including indications of all the mines, diggings, roads, mills, and other features of note. In the upper corner is a small map showing the various routes to California, and the main map extends from San Francisco, where most would land, north beyond the gold fields. The map is based on an 1848 by Edward Ord, but with some new information added to reflect later events. The map is almost as much a promotional document as a cartographic one, with notes scattered all over such as "Gold found on all these streams," and "Low Clay Hills and Gravel containing Gold." A note at the bottom lists the distances from Sutter's Fort to the lower and upper mines. A map like this, intended for use by travelers and often taken out into the field, would have a very low rate of survival, so it is especially surprising to find a copy in such excellent condition as this. It is a wonderful survivor of that important part of American history. $11,500
Sidney Hall. "Mexico, California & Texas." Edinburgh: A. & C. Black, ca. 1849. 10 1/4 x 14 1/2. Engraving by S. Hall. Original color. Light spot in map. Very good condition. Inset in lower left of "Guatimala."
An interesting map of Mexico and the American southwest issued in Edinburgh about 1849. Details of topography and settlements are shown throughout, and roads and political divisions are also indicated. This map was issued after the Mexican-American war, so Texas, New Mexico, Utah, and California are all shown as part of the United States. In Utah, Salt Lake City is shown on the Great Salt Lake, with the note that it is a "Mormon Set." Throughout the region are indications of Indian tribes. Overall, this is an interesting and up-to-date mapping of this region at an important period in its history. $375
"Map of the State of California, The Territories of Oregon & Utah, and the chief part of New Mexico." From Universal Atlas. Philadelphia: Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co., [1850]-1851. Copyright, H.B. Burroughs, 1845. 15 1/2 x 12 7/8. Lithographic transfer from an engraved plate. Original hand color. Full margins. Very good condition.
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
John Williams Gunnison & Charles Preuss. "Map of a Reconnoissance between Fort Leavenworth and the Missouri River, and the Great Salt Lake in the Territory of Utah, made in 1849 and 1850." From H.J. Stansbury's An Expedition to the Valley of the Great Sale Lake of Utah. Washington: GPO, 1852. 68 x 30. Lithograph by Ackerman, New York. Original outline color. A few short separations at folds; overall, excellent condition. Wheat: 764. Denver.
With the huge number of emigrants crossing the American continent in the 1840s, following the Platte River and across the South Pass on the Oregon Trail, there was a need for a better understanding of this relatively unknown region. Combining this with the growing desire to find a practical route for a transcontinental railroad, in 1849 the U.S. Government commissioned Howard Stansbury, a Captain in the U.S. Topographical Engineers, to survey the trail from Fort Leavenworth west to the Great Salt Lake. Stansbury's was the first accurate survey of this important region. Some of the map is borrowed from Frémont, who had surveyed the area in 1843, but Stansbury's party was the first to circumnavigate the lake and much new information is provided throughout. Working with J.W. Gunnison and Charles Preuss, Albert Carrington and others, the full survey from Kansas, across the southern Rockies, and around the Utah Valley took about two years, at the end of which Stansbury submitted his report to Congress in 1852, including this seminal map of the American West.
The detail in the map is remarkable, presented with crisp lithography. Presented with great precision is the topography, including prominent land features, mountain passes, rivers, lakes, and springs, as well as social features such as towns, forts, Indian tribes, and of course, the various trails to Oregon and California and along the base of the Rockies. Stansbury also provided information of the Rocky Mountains down into what would soon become the Colorado Territory, including the three Parks, Pikes Peak and Longs Peak. This is on the best maps of the American West before the Civil War, what Wheat calls "one of the most important of its decade." $1,200
R.H. Kern. "Reconnaissance of the Zuni, Little Colorado and Colorado Rivers." From Capt. Lorenza Sitgreaves' Report of an Expedition down the Zuni and Colorado Rivers. Washington and New York, 1852. Lithograph. 26 1/4 x 47 1/2. A few spots and slight browning at folds. Folds as issued. Wheat, Transmississippi, map 763. Denver.
This map illustrated an attempt to determine if the Zuni River emptied into the Colorado as well as record the local area. The junction is shown to be close to the Mexican border in southwest Arizona and extreme southeast border of California. The areas inhabited by nine different Indian tribes are designated on the map. As a government report, it had the right to use information from other expeditions, thus it used maps by William Emory on the Gila River and George Derby on the Colorado River. Wheat describes the map as the last of the efforts generated by the Mexican War and "a monumental achievement . . . generally correct and is exceedingly well done." (III: 24). Rare tribute from a usually very critical scholar. A mountain near Flagstaff, Arizona bears Sitgreaves' name. $375
Carl Flemming. "Mexico, Mittel-America, Texas." From Heinrich Berghaus's Vollständiger Universal-Handatlas. Glogau, Germany: C. Flemming, 1853. 13 x 16 1/2. Lithograph by C. Flemming. Original outline color. Very good condition.
Carl Flemming was the founder of an important German firm located in Berlin and Glogau and this map shows characteristic German detail. The Germans were very interested in America at this period, when many had emigrated to Texas seeking land ownership and employment. This map shows Mexico, Central America, Texas, and the present-day southwest U.S.. The topography of the American Southwest shown here is fairly confused, but the political information is up-to-date, for even though the old Texas border is still shown, the reduced (and present) borders of the state as established by the Compromise of 1850 are clearly indicated. The only other political border prominently depicted in the United States is for California. $475
"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
"Washington and Oregon." New York: J.H. Colton & Co., 1853. 13 x 16. Lithograph. Full original hand-coloring. Time toned throughout; tide marks in left margin and bottom margin, none affecting image. Else, very good condition.
An excellent map of the earliest manifestation of the Washington and Oregon Territories. In 1846, Great Britain and the United States signed the Oregon Treaty, which established the 49th parallel as the border between the two countries in the far west. The land south of this border was formed as the Oregon Territory, which it stayed until 1853, when the northern part was broken off as the Washington Territory. This is the political situation shown here. The two territories extend from the Pacific coast to the crest of the Rocky Mountains. Good information is shown in the west, where settlement had progressed, but between the Cascades and the Rockies little development is shown. This region was still virtually unexplored and the details shown include rivers, lakes, forts and cantonments. Also depicted is the Oregon Trail and the proposed route for the Northwestern Transcontinental Railroad. One of the most desirable maps of the Northwest at a very early stage of its development. $225
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.
Another map by Carl Flemming showing the region to the west of the Rocky Mountains. The topography is graphic, but quite confused. The entire region is shown consisting of only California and the three territories of Oregon-encompassing the entire northwest corner-, Utah and New Mexico. $475
A.H. Dufour. "États-Unis Région Des Territoires." From Atlas Populaire. Paris, ca. 1854. 12 1/2 x 9 1/2. Lithograph. Full original hand color. Very good condition. Denver.
A map of the Trans-Mississippi West by Adolph Hippolyte Dufour. The map is very interesting for its depiction of the territories in the region shortly after the Compromise of 1850. In that year, the lands which had been acquired as a result of the Mexican War were set up by the U.S. government as the state of California and the territories of Utah and New Mexico. Also as part of that compromise, Texas gave up its extensive claims to the north, taking the boundaries which exist today.
Dufour seems to have had the information about the political changes from 1850, but his geography is quite skewed. Texas is reduced in size, but the border with New Mexico is inaccurate. California is also shown with unusual borders, reflecting a too-far-East swing of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Of particular interest is the strange rendering of the shapes of the Utah and New Mexico territories. Utah is shown with essentially the borders which had been proposed by Brigham Young for his proposed state of Deseret; that is, covering the entire Great Basin and the drainage of the Colorado River. Deseret was never established, Utah being created instead, but Dufour gives both names and he does show the aggrandized borders suggested by the Mormons. New Mexico, meanwhile, follows mostly the borders of the old Mexican province, a narrow strip bordering the Rio Grande. Dufour is very current in showing the newly (1854) created territories of Washington and Kansas, though the shapes of both is similarly distorted to those of the other territories. Dufour also is quite current in showing early settlements, trails, forts, and many Indian tribe locations. It seems that he had access to up-to-date information, but not fully accurate and laid onto an underlying geography which was less than correct. $350
"Territories of New Mexico and Utah." New York: J.H. Colton, 1855. Second state, 1855-56. 12 1/2 x 15 1/2. Lithograph. Full original hand color. Very good condition. Brown: 2; Wheat: 832. Denver.
An early example of J.H. Colton's important map of the American Southwest. With the American victory in the Mexican War (1846-48), the United States gained a huge amount of land to the west of the Louisiana Territory. In 1850, the territory gained outside of California was divided into two territories: Utah to the north, the home of the Mormans, and New Mexico to the south. This was one of the first maps to show this region and this early version of Colton's map--which went through at least 12 states until 1863--shows the original configuration of the two territories. The map is copious in its detail, forts, Indian tribes, counties, mountains, rivers, lakes are all clearly depicted.
The information is impressively accurate, being based on the various explorations in the area. The routes of a number of these explorers are shown, including those of Fremont, Stansbury, Kearney and Gunnison (the latter noting that "Capt. Gunnison Killed by Indians"). Also indicated are the Cimarron Route from Ft. Leaveworth to Santa Fe, the Spanish route from Santa Fe to Los Angeles, the Oregon Route, and the different proposed routes for the transcontinental railroad. This map is interesting in showing Colorado (then mostly part of the Kansas Territory) just before the Gold Rush of 1858-1861. Over the next 8 years, this region would undergo tremendous changes, documented well in Colton's series of maps, of which this is the second state. $395
Andrew B. Gray. "Map Of That Portion Of The Boundary Between The United States and Mexico. From The Pacific Coast To The Junction Of The Gila And Colorado Rivers, Surveyed Under The Direction Of The Hon. John B. Weller U.S. Commissioner, And The Rio Gila From Near Its Intersection, With The Southern Boundary Of New Mexico, Surveyed Under The Direction Of John R. Bartlett." Washington: GPO, 1855. 21 x 49. Lithograph by Ackerman. Folded on somewhat brittle paper. Short tear near where attached; otherwise, very good. With original Senate report bound with new covers. Wheat: 840.
A large, very detailed map, called by Wheat "clearly a major performance." The map was created under the instructions of the Joint Commission that had been set up by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to map the new U.S.-Mexico border, including the Gadsden Purchase of 1854. This map is minutely detailed along the border region, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to Texas. Included is a inset "Sketch of the Port of San Diego." This is an excellent example of the quality of the government mapping of the west in the nineteenth century. $2,500
"Territories of New Mexico and Utah." New York: J.H. Colton. Fourth state, 1857-58. 12 1/2 x 15 1/2. Lithograph. Full original hand color. Very good condition. Brown: 4; cf. Wheat: 832. Denver.
A slightly later edition of the map above, but without the decorative border. $350
"Washington and Oregon." New York: J.H. Colton & Co., 1856. 13 x 16. Lithograph. Full original hand-coloring. Some light stains in margins. Otherwise, very good condition.
An excellent map of the earliest manifestation of the Washington and Oregon Territories. In 1846, Great Britain and the United States signed the Oregon Treaty, which established the 49th parallel as the border between the two countries in the far west. The land south of this border was formed as the Oregon Territory, which it stayed until 1853, when the northern part was broken off as the Washington Territory. This is the political situation shown here. The two territories extend from the Pacific coast to the crest of the Rocky Mountains. Good information is shown in the west, where settlement had progressed, but between the Cascades and the Rockies little development is shown. This region was still virtually unexplored and the details shown include rivers, lakes, forts and cantonments. Also depicted is the Oregon Trail and the proposed route for the Northwestern Transcontinental Railroad. One of the most desirable maps of the Northwest at a very early stage of its development. $250
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