Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map of the United States.

1847 Mitchell / Young Map of the United States

Publication Date: 1847

About this Item

Good. Full professional restoration. Some discoloration, cracking, etc. Fully stabilized. Size 57.75 x 72 Inches. This is the only known example of the 1847 edition of S. A. Mitchell and J. H. Young's important large-scale wall map of the United States. Issued at the end of the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1847), the map reflects new territorial acquisitions from the Treaty of Guadeloupe-Hidalgo, including Texas, New Mexico, California, and what would become Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Points of interest include ambiguity over the Texas-New Mexico border and the 54°40' dispute over U.S. claims in modern-day British Columbia. A Closer Look The primary map's coverage extends from the Sabine River to the Atlantic, and from the Great Lakes to Florida. There are multiple insets, including the northern part of Maine, and the vicinity of Niagara Falls, Washington D.C. and Baltimore, and Charleston. However, two of the insets are particularly worthy of note. The largest is a reduced version of Mitchell's seminal work A New Map of Texas Oregon and California , notable for many reasons, including a prominent depiction of Texas representing the post-1846 borders. To the left of this extraordinary work is a large inset map of southern Florida from Lake George to Key West. A New Map of Texas Oregon and California The large inset of the American West is in fact Mitchell's seminal A New Map of Texas Oregon and California with the Regions adjoining , first published separately in 1846. Considered to be 'the quintessential trail map of the American West', its inclusion of this stunning wall map makes the piece even more extraordinary. The importance of this map in the history of the American westward expansion cannot be understated. When Brigham Young and the Mormons set out to settle Utah, he famously ordered 6 copies. In fact, one example in the collections of Brigham Young University bears a manuscript annotation identifying Mormon settlements in Utah, making it the first known map to do so. However, it was not only Mormon emigres who took advantage of Mitchell's work, it was simply the best map of the time for anyone planning the long trek westward and was consequently extremely popular. Mitchell's map offered the best published mapping of many of most important transcontinental routes, including the 'Oregon Trail' (up the Platte, across South Pass, and down the Snake to the Columbia), the Caravan Route to Santa Fe (from Jefferson City, roughly following the Arkansas and Salt Fork Rivers, the across modern day Kansas and Colorado to Santa Fe), and the Spanish Trail (from Santa Fe crossing the Rocky Mountains via Salina Canyon before following the Virgin and Mohave Rivers to Los Angeles). Also noted, though given less attention are several old trade routes extending from Louisiana through Texas and into Mexico. Texas Borders The borders of Texas were in dispute from the earliest days of the Texan Revolution. The Republic-claimed borders followed the Treaties of Velasco between the newly created Texas Republic and Mexican leader, Antonio López de Santa Anna. The treaties established an eastern boundary following the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty between the United States and Spain, which established the Sabine River as the eastern boundary of Spanish Texas and the western boundary of the Missouri Territory. The Republic's southern and western boundary with Mexico was more nuanced. Texas claimed the Rio Grande del Norte as its western and southernmost border, while Mexico argued for a boundary further east at the Nueces River. Still others pushed the border even more aggressively westward to include both the Rio Grande River and the entire Rio Grande Valley, including Santa Fe. When Texas was annexed into the United States, the agreement followed the most aggressive boundary, thus absorbing Mexican-claimed territory, including Santa Fe. This escalated already existing tensions between the United States, the former Republic of Texas, and Mexico, ul.

Seller Inventory # UnitedStates-mitchellyoung-1847

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map of the United States.
• Publication Date: 1847
• Seller catalogs:
  • UNITED-STATES-MAPS