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Description

A finely produced lithographic map of North America by the Scottish geographer Alexander Keith Johnston, published at a moment of significant transition in the continent’s political geography. Issued shortly after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and before the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, the map captures the United States as it first extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific, while also preserving traces of earlier imperial rivalries and unresolved territorial claims. This sheet is from Johnston’s “lithographed edition,” prepared as a more economical alternative to the copperplate maps in his National Atlas, but printed to the same high standards of precision and typographic clarity.

The political coloring reflects the recent incorporation of Texas, California, and the New Mexico territory. The southern boundary of the United States follows the Gila River, placing Mesilla and Tucson (not shown) within Mexico. This border arrangement would soon shift with the Gadsden Purchase.

In the Pacific Northwest, Johnston's treatment of the Oregon boundary is more complicated. A printed label near Vancouver Island reads “Boundary of Oregon Settled June 15th 1846,” acknowledging the terms of the Oregon Treaty that set the U.S.-British boundary at the 49th parallel. However, the hand-coloring does not follow the treaty line. Most of modern Oregon and eastern Washington appear in U.S. green, but British pink extends down the Columbia River corridor, excluding the an unusual wedge from the Olympic Peninsula.

This inconsistency is hard to account for. Fort Vancouver and other British posts had defined the region’s geography for decades. Perhaps by retaining the pink shading in these areas, Johnston reflects the lingering influence of British commercial presence, even after the boundary had been officially settled. The result is a map that acknowledges the treaty on paper while still visualizing an older imperial geography.

Elsewhere, the map is rich in geographic and ethnographic detail. Johnston traces the emigrant road to Oregon, the Santa Fe and Chihuahua trails, and major interior routes. Forts Hall, Laramie, and Bent’s Fort are all marked. Native territories are identified across the interior, including Apacharia, Yamayæ, Mandan, and Pawnee. Eastern states show a dense and growing railroad network. The cartouche includes both geographical and English miles to the degree but avoids giving a universal scale, which would have been misleading given the map’s projection.

A note below the scale bars states that the region between 42 degrees and 54° 40′ was claimed by both Britain and the United States. This appears to be a holdover from earlier editions, predating the 1846 treaty. The result is a document that captures both the official boundaries of the United States and the practical ambiguities that remained in the visual and political understanding of North America.

Condition Description
Original hand-color. Lithograph on 19th-century wove paper.