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Rare First Edition of The Lucas Map of Virginia
Fielding Lucas Jr.'s single-page map of Virginia, first published in his New & Elegant General Atlas of the United States around 1812-1813, stands as a significant early example of American cartography. The map showcases Virginia in its expansive pre-Civil War form, stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Ohio River, encompassing what would later become West Virginia. An inset map in the upper left corner provides a more detailed view of the state's western portion.
Engraved by H.S. Tanner and drawn by Samuel Lewis, this map exemplifies the evolving standards of early American cartography. Its production in the United States, rather than in Europe, marks a significant step in the development of domestic map-making.
Rarity
The single-page Virginia was issued from about 1812 (at the latest 1813) until it was retired in favor of Lucas's double-page Virginia, which happened in about 1817. The latter would go on to be published in Lucas's 1823 atlas.
The 1813-1816 versions of Lucas's New & Elegant General Atlas are the rarest of his atlases from the perspective of their contents. (There are at least two later Lucas atlases (A General Atlas, of all the Known Countries in the World and his West Indies atlas, which, while extremely rare as titles, do not include maps that are themselves particularly rare.)
Thus, the single-page Virginia is very rare; this is only the second time we have had in over thirty years of dealing.
Fielding Lucas, Jr. (1781-1854) was a prominent American cartographer, engraver, artist, and public figure during the first half of the 19th century.
Lucas was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia and moved to Philadelphia as a teenager, before settling in Baltimore. There he launched a successful cartographic career. Lucas's first atlas was announced in early- to mid-1812, with production taking place between September 1812 and December of 1813, by which point the engravings were complete. Bound copies of the atlas -- A new and elegant general atlas: Containing maps of each of the United States -- were available early in the next year, beating Carey to market by about two months. Lucas later published A General Atlas Containing Distinct Maps Of all the known Countries in the World in the early 1820s.
![[ Revolutionary War Map Showing Rochambeau's March from Boston to the Chesapeake ]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/103560.jpg)
