[Lewis & Clark's Official Account] A Map of Lewis and Clark's Track Across the Western Portion of North America, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. By Order of the Executive of the United States in 1804, 5 & 6. . . . [Complete with 3 volumes of Text:] Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. Performed by Order of the Government of the United States, in the Years 1804, 1805, and 1806].

William Clark / Meriwether Lewis

Published by William Clark / Meriwether Lewis, 1815

About this Item

The Single Most Important American Exploration and Discovery Map of the 19th Century.A very nice clean example of the 1815 London octavo edition of Lewis & Clark's official account, with the important foldi. Octavo. Three volumes. Contemporary speckled calf, expertly and uniformly rebacked in antique-style calf, raised bands, contrasting leather spine labels. Some edge rubbing, neatly restored corners. xxvi,[2],411; xii,434; xii,394 pages. Half title in vol. 2. Plus a total of 6 engraved maps (including the large folding map and 5 single-page maps). The large map is quite nice and clean (some splits at folds, with neat repairs to verso of sheet, no losses). The pages clean and free of foxing. Overall a very nice clean set in handsome matching 19th-century bindings. Armorial bookplate of Sir William Curtis, in each volume. In a single custom dark green felt-lined clamshell case, leather spine label. The Single Most Important American Exploration and Discovery Map of the 19th Century.A very nice clean example of the 1815 London octavo edition of Lewis & Clark's official account, with the important folding map of the Northwestern US, based upon William Clark's original manuscript map of the expedition. This is a mixed set, with volume 1 bearing the 1815 dated title page, while volumes 2 and 3 are dated 1817 (3rd edition). As the set is bound in matching contemporary bindings (speckled calf boards, with 19th-century armorial bookplate to each volume), it is very likely the three volumes have been together since they were issued. It should be noted that besides the date on the title page there is no difference between the 1815 and 1817 versions.Lewis & Clark's official account of the expedition is a cornerstone of any collection of Western Americana. The map, which is intended to illustrate the sum total of the expedition, is perhaps the single most important American exploration and discovery map of the 19th Century. It changed American mapping of the northwest by giving the first accurate depiction of the relationship of the sources of the Missouri, the sources of the Columbia, and the Rocky Mountains.This book is without question the most famous of all western travel narratives, describing the expedition to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase, undertaken from 1804 to 1806 by ascending the Missouri River to its source, crossing the Rocky Mountains, and reaching the Pacific Ocean. In total, the expedition covered some eight thousand miles in slightly more than twenty-eight months. The expedition resulted in the first reliable information about much of the area which Lewis & Clark traversed, made contact with the Indian inhabitants as a prelude to the expansion of the fur trade, and advanced by a quantum leap the geographical knowledge of the continent.The present example of the map is dated April 28th, 1814, which Wagner identifies as being the date of printing on all 3 of the English editions. This is the English re-engraving and publication of the map originally issued in 1814 to accompany the first American edition of Lewis & Clark's History Of The Expedition Under The Command Of Captains Lewis And Clark, To The Sources Of The Missouri . . . , published in Philadelphia by Bradford & Inskeep. The Philadelphia edition of the map was copied by Samuel Lewis from William Clark's original drawing and was engraved by Samuel Harrison.While intended as an exact duplicate, there are some minor differences between the London and Philadelphia editions of the map. The London edition is a bit larger than the Philadelphia edition (per measurements in Wagner-Camp 13:1, 13:2 and 13:3). The London edition omits the inverted "V" symbols showing Indian settlements in the western portion of the map. Also, the old Route eastward from the Mahar Village area on the Missouri River toward Spirit Lake and the Portage to the Lake are omitted from the E.

Seller Inventory # 123821

Bibliographic Details

• Title: [Lewis & Clark's Official Account] A Map of Lewis and Clark's Track Across the Western Portion of North America, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. By Order of the Executive of the United States in 1804, 5 & 6. . . . [Complete with 3 volumes of Text:] Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. Performed by Order of the Government of the United States, in the Years 1804, 1805, and 1806].
• Publisher: William Clark / Meriwether Lewis
• Publication Date: 1815
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: vg
• Book Type: Book
• Seller catalogs:
  • Antique Maps