Henry Schenck Tanner (1786-1858). Lengths of the Principal Rivers in the World. Heights of the Principal Mountains in the World, (Philadelphia: Carey & Hart [1845] 1836). Published in A New Universal Atlas Containing Maps of the various Empires, Kingdoms, States and Republics Of The World. Lithograph (image transferred from steel engraving plate) with original hand-coloring. Engraved by F. Humphrys. 12 5/8 x 15 7/8 in. to neat line. Sheet size: 13 3/4 x 17 ½ in. Comparative chart showing mountains and volcanoes at center, and rivers at the top. Major world cities are shown scattered across the mountains at their appropriate elevations. Text key at sides. Age toning in margins along with perforations at the bottom, and a few spots of foxing. Good condition for this popular chart. $900.
$900.00
Popular Chart of the World’s Mountains and Rivers
This chart of the world’s great mountains and rivers by Henry Tanner is a striking example of the kind of encyclopedic information that mapmakers of the late nineteenth century sought to include in their atlases. The courses of 43 major world rivers are portrayed in geographic detail, from their mouths at major water bodies to their known mountain sources and headwaters. Tributaries from large to medium to small, as well as lakes of numerous sizes are shown, along with riverside cities and towns. Through the straightened distortion of the watercourses and their watersheds, the major river systems’ lengths are compared side-by-side, vertically. Their rankings are notably different then they would be today. For North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, highly stylized mountains are projected diagonally across the chart, with elevations and names noted in the tables that appear on the left and right side of the map.
Tanner issued this atlas first in 1836 with engraved maps, then it was taken over by Carey and Hart in 1843 and converted by them to lithographic maps in 1845. This atlas is important in American printing history in that it was the first American atlas to be converted from engraved map plates to lithographic map plates – greatly reducing the cost of production and thus making the book widely affordable by the general public. Offered here is one of the most elegant examples of this type of map, which presents a wonderful visualization of the heights and lengths of the world’s mountains and rivers.
Refs: Phillips Atlases: 774; Rumsey Map Collection: 0537.001
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