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Northwestern sheet from the second edition of Tardieu's rare 4-sheet map of the United States, extending from the Upper Mississippi River Valley to Michigan Territory and Western Ohio.
The map is a landmark of American Cartography prior to Lewis & Clark. The interior detail of the trans-Mississippi west was compiled largely from accounts supplied by Native Americans to Arrowsmith by the Hudson's Bay Company. This updated edition is significantly revised from the 1802 edition. The most noteworthy change is the addition of Michigan Territory, which had been organized in June 1805, making this one of the earliest appearances of Michigan Territory on a printed map. The map also names Indiana and notes the early township surveys in Ohio. The detail in the Upper Mississippi River Valley is also of note.
Tardieu's map was originally taken from the true first state of Arrowsmith's map of the United States, which has been completely re-engraved by Tardieu and periodically updated over the next 10+ years. The map reflects the finer engraving skills of this Paris engraver. Tardieu's map is rare, so much so that a number of bibliographers have missed the existence of the several editions of the map, each of which is significantly revised from earlier editions.
Pierre Antoine Tardieu (1784-1869), also known to sign his works as PF Tardieu, was a prolific French map engraver and geographer. The Tardieu family, based in Paris, was well known for their talent in engraving, cartography, and illustration. Pierre Antoine’s father, Antoine Francois Tardieu, was an established cartographer who published numerous atlases. His son is said to have collaborated with him for many years before establishing his own independent career.
Pierre Antoine Tardieu’s most famous work includes engravings of the islands of La Palma and Tenerife, for which in 1818 he was awarded a bronze medal by King Louis-Phillipe for the beauty and accuracy of his mapping. Other famous work includes his mapping of Louisiana and Mexico, engravings of Irish counties, maps of Russia and Asia, and his highly celebrated illustrations of all the provinces of France. He was also the first mapmaker to engrave on steel.
Tardieu was a popular map engraver in his lifetime, enjoying the patronage of the likes of Alexander von Humboldt and respect among his peers. In 1837, he was appointed the title Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur. As was written in his obituary in the Bulletin of the Geographical Society of France, he was renowned for his combination of technical talent and scholarly research skills and praised for furthering his family’s well-respected name in the scientific arts.
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