The 1820s saw the maturation of cartographic publishing in the United States, heralding the “Golden Age of American Cartography”.1 Atlas publishers in the first years of this era included, Carey & Lea, Fielding Lucas, Henry Tanner, and Anthony Finley.
The above map of North Carolina was published in the 1824 first edition of Anthony Finley’s A New General Atlas Comprising a Complete Set of Maps… Continue reading “NC cartobibliography: Anthony Finley”
Fielding Lucas Jr. first advertised an “Elegant New Atlas” as published and for sale on 10 February 1814, claiming, “There being now no other genuine Modern Atlas of the United States, nor any other likely to be had for some time to come –“.[1] He was half correct. Continue reading “North Carolina maps in Fielding Lucas atlases”
In “What map is this?” Part 1 and Part 2, cartobibliographic resources useful in identification of North Carolina maps were discussed. In this segment, we’ll provide all the nitty-gritty details needed to correctly identify and date a series of 19th century atlas maps of “North & South Carolina” (ignoring the awful grammar inherent to that map title). Continue reading “What map is this? Burr or Greenleaf?”
MITCHELL
A recent listing on eBay reminded me of the neglect frequently paid to North Carolina by map publishers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The eBay listing was for a “Tourist’s Pocket Map of South Carolina”, by S. Augustus Mitchell. 
Would you like to see a copy of Mitchell’s “Tourist’s Pocket Map of North Carolina”? Continue reading “Nonexistent North Carolina Maps or North Carolina Maps You’ll Never See”
For many collectors, the progressively mundane character of later 19th century maps is no match for the seductive combination of artistry and expansion of geographic knowledge associated with colonial era maps. It’s no wonder that cartobibliographers have focused on the earlier maps. In Part 1, we discussed the excellent references available for identifying pre-19th century maps of North Carolina, and the dearth of references for maps published after 1800. Let’s take a look at one very helpful on line guide for a subset of 19th century atlas maps. Continue reading “What Map is This?: Part 2”
So, you want to learn about old maps of North Carolina or, perhaps, you have an old map and are curious about its origin. What are the best published references from which to learn about antiquarian North Carolina maps? Continue reading “What map is this?: Part 1.”
