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Arrowsmith Writes To Pinkerton About The Stony Mountains
Interesting 1803 letter written by Aaron Arrowsmith, London's pre-eminent mapmaker of the first quarter of the 19th Century, to British mapmaker and publisher John Pinkerton, one of his primary competitors, who was then in Paris.
While brief, the letter is quite extrarodinary, as it references a number of Arrowsmith's most important maps and, most notably, his receipt of information regarding the Stony Mountains, a reference to Arrowsmith's information received from Peter Fidler, which would lead to Arrowsmith updating his map of the Interior Parts of North America.
London 10th May 1803
Dear Sir,
I received all your letters. I have made some additions to the map of North America which came home last year from that country -- but illness prevented y making some additions to the map of Asia. I shall send you a copy of the new Edn. of the American map, with one of the West Indies in 4 Sheets which will be printed at the latter end of this month or the beginning of June. I have got the Spanish map of South America and the Province of Quito with a complete sett of all the Spanish Charts published at Madrid my map of Hindoustan is all upon the copper in 6 sheets.
Yours A. Arrowsmith
Verso note: I had sent me a letter giving a curious & accurate account of the Stony mountains for many hundreds of miles if I can get leave will send you a ? of it.
While brief in nature, the map is an extraordinary look into Arrowsmith's workshop in the Spring of 1803, a time when a number of his most important American maps were being published.
While more difficult to decipher, the note regarding receipt of a "Spanish map of South America and the Province of Quito with a complete sett of all the Spanish Charts published at Madrid" is likely a precursor to the English translation of Thompson's Alcedo or production of Arrowsmith's 1810 6-sheet map of South America.
Provenance: Warren Heckrotte Collection
The Arrowsmiths were a cartographic dynasty which operated from the late-eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth. The family business was founded by Aaron Arrowsmith (1750-1823), who was renowned for carefully prepared and meticulously updated maps, globes, and charts. He created many maps that covered multiple sheets and which were massive in total size. His spare yet exacting style was recognized around the world and mapmakers from other countries, especially the young country of the United States, sought his maps and charts as exemplars for their own work.
Aaron Arrowsmith was born in County Durham in 1750. He came to London for work around 1770, where he found employment as a surveyor for the city’s mapmakers. By 1790, he had set up his own shop which specialized in general charts. Arrowsmith had five premises in his career, most of which were located on or near Soho Square, a neighborhood the led him to rub shoulders with the likes of Joseph Banks, the naturalist, and Matthew Flinders, the hydrographer.
Through his business ties and employment at the Hydrographic Office, Arrowsmith made other important relationships with Alexander Dalrymple, the Hudson’s Bay Company, and others entities. In 1810 he became Hydrographer to the Prince of Wales and, in 1820, Hydrographer to the King.
Aaron Arrowsmith died in 1823, whereby the business and title of Hydrographer to the King passed to his sons, Aaron and Samuel, and, later, his nephew, John. Aaron Jr. (1802-1854) was a founder member of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and left the family business in 1832; instead, he enrolled at Oxford to study to become a minister. Samuel (1805-1839) joined Aaron as a partner in the business and they traded together until Aaron left for the ministry. Samuel died at age 34 in 1839; his brother presided over his funeral. The remaining stock and copper plates were bought at auction by John Arrowsmith, their cousin.
John (1790-1873) operated his own independent business after his uncle, Aaron Arrowsmith Sr., died. After 1839, John moved into the Soho premises of his uncle and cousins. John enjoyed considerable recognition in the geography and exploration community. Like Aaron Jr., John was a founder member of the RGS and would serve as its unofficial cartographer for 43 years. Several geographical features in Australia and Canada are named after him. He carried the title Hydrographer to Queen Victoria. He died in 1873 and the majority of his stock was eventually bought by Edward Stanford, who co-founded Stanford’s map shop, which is still open in Covent Garden, London today.
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