PROSPECTO PARA LA PUBLICACION DE UN MAPA JENERAL DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS MEJICANOS.[caption title].

A rare prospectus and early subscriber's order form for an unpublished map of Mexico, proposed in 1831 by Stephen McLellan Staples, the surveyor general for the Mexican state of Chihuahua, and author of LA GRAMATICA COMPLETA DE LA LENGUA INGLESA EN CASTELLANO. Staples' map, which would have been a valuable firsthand addition to the cartography of the early Mexican Republic, was never published - he died less than a year after producing this prospectus. Staples' map was to include a view of the cathedral and a plan of Mexico City, including the names of streets, plus a separate plan of the interior of the National Palace of Mexico, as well as a view of the building. Staples includes proposed details for the various aspects of the map in the text on the first page, and top of the second page. This is followed by the conditions of subscription; one could buy both the map and plan for $15, or each of them separately ($12 for the map or $5 for the plan). Staples signs in print after the subscription options, dating them May 25, 1831 in New York. The second page concludes with a partially-printed form for subscribers to write their name, address, and number of copies, which is blank in this example. Stephen McLellan Staples was born in Gorham, Maine in 1800. He was educated at Bowdoin College in 1821, and moved to Philadelphia to open an academy where he taught English and Classics. In 1825, he published an English grammar designed for Spanish speakers, the first such work published in America. Later that year, he moved to Mexico, and served as the surveyor general for Chihuahua for several years. Bad health forced him to move back to Philadelphia in 1830, and he died of consumption in Philadelphia in February 1832, just about nine months after he published the present prospectus. It is a shame that Staples never produced his map, as it would have provided posterity with a valuable and first-hand contemporary view of independent Mexico in the first decade of its existence. Staples' cartographic work in general is very rare, with only a few results of any kind in institutions, including a map of Parras in Coahuila (1828), a manuscript preliminary plan of Mexico City (1828), and a manuscript map of northern Mexico, including Exter and Wilson's Grant (1828, Streeter Texas 1120). OCLC records just three physical copies of the present prospectus, at the American Antiquarian Society, the Clements Library, and the University of Texas at Arlington. OCLC 84276409. Quarto. Old folds, minor toning. Near fine.…