Henry Schenck Tanner, United States of America, 1839

This appealing map of the United States from 1839 was produced during what has been called the “Golden Age of American Cartography”—the period from 1820 to 1840. During this time American commercial map publishing reached its peak, in part because the widespread use of copperplate engraving enabled U. S. cartographers to keep pace with their more experienced competitors in Europe.

In this seventh edition, the Michigan peninsula has been substantially redrawn, the profiles in the lower left corner of the map have been eliminated to reveal a good bit of Republican Texas, Wisconsin and Iowa are shown, Missouri is enlarged in the northwestern corner, and new counties are added in most of the states. This is a major revision of the map. There is added a new key index system of numbers (and letters for Texas). Most copies of this map are either colored in outline or in full color by state. The map is edged in brown cloth, dissected into 60 sections and mounted on linen. Folds into the original half leather red cloth covers 8 ¾ x 7 in. with ties; title on the spine is stamped in gold and reads “Map Of The U. States With Index.”

This large historical map depicts the territory from the Atlantic coast to the Midwest and Trans‑Mississippi regions. The map details settlements, rivers, Native American territories, and major transportation routes, accompanied by statistical information and inset plans of principal cities. A work of significant historical and cartographic importance, exemplifying nineteenth-century American mapping, notable for its visual impact and wealth of information.

A principal contributor to this golden age, Henry Schenck Tanner was one of the most successful and productive publishers of maps in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, he succeeded John Melish as the leading publisher of the period. His New American Atlas of 1823 is considered a landmark in American cartography, raising U. S. commercial map production to its highest level. In 1836, Tanner released a new and smaller atlas, but one which was more comprehensive in scope, now including foreign countries. Called A New Universal Atlas, it was revised in 1839, and like its predecessor was as a superb production, executed with the utmost care and attention to craftsmanship.

Reference: Phillips Maps of America, p. 885 (dimensions are incorrect); Howes, T28; Ristow, p.198.