First Edition of a Notable and Extensive Work on the Early American Republic
With the Russell Map of Washington, D.C. - Among the Earliest Plans of the City
Impressive 18th-century historical, geographical, and scientific account of the United States, profusely illustrated with excellent engraved maps and plates depicting the young country and its planned capital.
Winterbotham wrote this work while imprisoned in Newgate Prison for sedition. In 1792, he had preached sermons considered too liberal and sympathetic with the French Revolution, for which he was condemned to two years imprisonment and a £200 fine.
The work covers a wide variety of subjects, ranging from the discovery of the American continent to its then current economic and political history. The plates and maps greatly enhance this discussion, depicting various quadrupeds (including both a buffalo and a bison), birds, and reptiles native to the continent, as well as famous leaders (Washington, Franklin, William Penn, and the author himself), as well as a fine hand-colored engraved plate of one of the continent's main sources of wealth: the tobacco plant.
Russell's Map of Washington, D.C.
Winterbotham's work contains the Russell map of Washington, D.C., in its first volume. Russell's map of Washington is the fourth earliest plan of the City of Washington, preceded only by the two official 1792 plans of the city and the first edition of John Reid's map, upon which the present is based. The plan shows Georgetown, the street layout for Washington proper, the President's House, the Capitol, and other features.
On January 24, 1791, President George Washington announced the permanent location of the national capital, a diamond-shaped ten-mile tract at the confluence of the Potomac and Eastern Branch Rivers. The original survey was performed by Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker (a freed slave). In March of 1791, Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant was appointed by Washington to prepare a plan for the new city, with Andrew Ellicott serving as L'Enfant's assistant. L'Enfant turned out to be difficult to work with, and Thomas Jefferson and Washington ultimately suspended L'Enfant's participation in the project in 1792.
Andrew Ellicott took over the project using L'Enfant's model as his base for completing the plan of the City. Philadelphia engravers James Thackeray and John Vallance and Boston's Samuel Blodget Jr. were hired to produce engraved versions of Ellicott's manuscript plan. However, prior to the release of the large official plans, both engravers also engraved and printed a smaller version of that official map. A keepsake edition of the map was also printed from Hill's map in red on linen.
The map is preceded only by the two official plans of the city and the Reid map.
The Mapping of Kentucky
The work devotes a total of three maps and plans to Kentucky, more than it does to any other subject. The Russell map of Kentucky is one of the earliest obtainable maps of Kentucky and shows the region only three years after the region became the fifteenth state. The map is centered on the Cumberland River, and shows the Southwestern Territory, Tennessee Government, and the area reserved for the North Carolina Troops. A variant of this map was later issued by Reid for his American Atlas.
The two town plans are also interesting. They show Franklinville and Lystra, both formed on paper in 1794 by a group of London speculators. The towns were supposed to be built beside the North Fork and South Fork of the Kentucky River, respectively. Both followed similar neoclassical plans centered around a large central garden. Neither project was ever realized.
The 11 maps and plans are as follows:
- A General Map of North America by J. Russell
- An Accurate Map the United States of America according to the Treaty of Peace of 1783
- A Map of the Northern, or, New England States of America... By J. Russell
- Map of the Middle States of America by J. Russell
- Map of the Southern States of America... By J. Russell
- Plan of the City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia ....
- Map of the State of Kentucky with the Adjoining Territories
- Plan of Lystra in Nelson County, Kentucky
- Plan of Franklinville, in Mason County, Kentucky
- A General Map of South America Drawn from the Best Surveys
- An Accurate Map of the West Indies ...
A nice complete set with all 22 plates and 11 maps. Pagination as follows, conforming to Sabin and Howes (but with the addition of the subscriber's list in vol. 1, apparently overlooked by Howes and Sabin, but present in our set).
- Vol 1: [2], viii, [10], 591 pp. With engraved frontispiece of George Washington, 2 folding maps, and 1 plate.
- Vol 2: [4], 493. With engraved frontispiece of William Penn, 2 folding maps, and 2 plates.
- Vol 3: [4], 525. With engraved frontispiece of Benjamin Franklin and 2 plates (one hand-colored), 3 folding maps, 1 folding table, and 2 plans.
- Vol 4: [20], 415, [1], 54. With engraved frontispiece of Winterbotham and 14 plates, 2 folding maps and 3 folding tables.