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Scarce map of North America, published in London by James Wyld.
Wyld's map shows Texas in its early Republic configuration, prior to the addition of the claims in New Mexico which would convert the appearance in the north to that of a Stovepipe.
Mexico is now independent, with a firm claim to Upper California and the Southwest, pre-dating the Mexican War. Similarly, no resolution has yet been made to the Oregon Question, but here, a decidedly British interpretation of the boundary is shown.
Upper California includes the Rio Buenaventura and Rio Sacramento or Timpanogos, flowing from the Pacific to Lake Timpanogos (Salt Lake), and the mythical Lake Teguayo, features that were being removed from the map following Fremont's expedition in the early 1840s.
The map still pre-dates the addition of Wisconsin Territory (formed April 20, 1836) and Iowa Territory (July 4, 1838). The double wide Arkansas configuration is also in evidence, although truncated, and Missouri Territory dominates the Plains and Upper Missouri Valley.
A massive Missouri Territory runs to the Rockies, with Oregon Territory not yet named or formed.
The map is a richly detailed almalgam of information from the Hudson's Bay and North West Company, including many forts and early Factory Houses.
James Wyld Sr. (1790-1836) was a British cartographer and one of Europe’s leading mapmakers. He made many contributions to cartography, including the introduction of lithography into map printing in 1812.
William Faden, another celebrated cartographer, passed down his mapmaking business to Wyld in 1823. The quality and quantity of Faden’s maps, combined with Wyld’s considerable skill, brought Wyld great prestige.
Wyld was named geographer to Kings George IV and William IV, as well as HRH the Duke of York. In 1825, he was elected an Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Geographical Society in 1830. Also in 1830, his son, James Wyld Jr., took over his publishing house. Wyld Sr. died of overwork on October 14, 1836.
James Wyld Jr. (1812-87) was a renowned cartographer in his own right and he successfully carried on his father’s business. He gained the title of Geographer to the Queen and H.R.H. Prince Albert. Punch (1850) described him in humorous cartographic terms, “If Mr. Wyld’s brain should be ever discovered (we will be bound he has a Map of it inside his hat), we should like to have a peep at it, for we have a suspicion that the two hemispheres must be printed, varnished, and glazed, exactly like a pair of globes.”
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