1847 Guide Map of the U.S., from Phelps's Travellers Guide, Antique Map

Offered is an original 1847 ornamental map of the U.S. entitled "Ornamental Map of the United States & Mexico" by Humphrey Phelps. The map was issued as an act of Congress by Phelps on Fulton Street, New York. The broadside is elaborately hand-colored. This is a very detailed and graphic propaganda map of the United States expressing U.S. dominance of the North American continent. The hand-colored map proclaims the Manifest Destiny, with the recent acquisition of Upper California and Texas at the conclusion of the Mexican-American War. The newly acquired land is boldly colored, standing in stark contrast to the rest of the U.S. The map details a potential route for a railroad running from New York City, to Buffalo, to Chicago, then west along the Oregon Trail to Oregon City. This route anticipates the construction of the transcontinental railroad by nearly 20 years. The map includes elaborately detailed renderings of George Washington, Hernan Cortez, and Montezuma at top to represent European expansion to the Americas. At bottom are four inset designs with text showing the following: a chronological history of the U.S. beginning from settlement to the U.S. victory in the Mexican-American war; an illustration of General Zachary Taylor with details on the Oregon Territory; an illustration of the Aztec Temple of the Sun in Tenochtitlan and a chronology of the Conquest of the Aztec Empire under Cortez; a portrait of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna...

Presented is U.S. Coast Survey nautical chart or maritime map of Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay from 1856. The map depicts the region from Susquehanna, Maryland to the northern Outer Banks in North Carolina. It also shows from Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia to the Atlantic Ocean. The map is highly detailed with many cities and towns labeled throughout. Rivers, inlets, and bays are also labeled. Various charts illustrating more specific parts of the region are marked on the map using dotted lines. The lines form boxes, and the corresponding chart number and publication date are given. Extensive triangulation surveys were conducted the length of Chesapeake Bay and are illustrated here. Hampton Roads, Virginia is labeled, along with the James, York, and Rappahannock Rivers, which were all extensively surveyed. The chart was published under the supervision of A. D. Bache, one of the most influential and prolific figures in the early history of the U.S. Coast Survey, for the 1856 Report of the Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey. Alexander Dallas Bache (1806-1867) was an American physicist, scientist, and surveyor. Bache served as the Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey from 1843 to 1865. Born in Philadelphia, Bache toured Europe and composed an important treatise on European Education. He also served as president of Philadelphia's Central High School and was a professor of natural history and chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. Upon the death of Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler, Bache was appointed Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey. The Office of the Coast Survey, founded in 1807 by President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of Commerce Albert Gallatin...

Antique map titled 'Planisphère'. Original antique map of the world. This map originates from 'Abrégé de Géographie (..)' by Adrien Balbi. Pub...

Antique map titled 'Madrid'. Original antique map of the city of Madrid, Spain. This map originates from 'Abrégé de Géographie (..)' by Adrien Balbi. Published 1847.