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Description

Rare folded example of Ensign & Thayer's map of the United States, published in New York.

The present example bears the pencil annotations of the legendary American collector, Thomas W. Streeter, who is widely regarded as the greatest Americana book and map collector of the 20th Century.

Issued shortly after the discovery of gold in California, the map shows the gold regions (in Gold), along with the newly created territories of Utah and New Mexico, with boundaries added for the first time on this edition of the map. The map also shows a number of other early territorial configurations, including

  • Oregon Territory, prior to creation of Washington and Idaho.
  • Indian Territory, prior to its being extended to the west above the Texas Panhandle.
  • Nebaska Territory, predating the creation of Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming and Montana.
  • Minnesota Territory, prior to the creation of Dakota Territory.

The map shows a number of Indian Tribes, early routes of exploration to the west, rivers, etc. A number of important early western forts are noted. As noted by Wheat, "the northern overland route to California [foreshadows] that of J.H. Simpson ten years later, leading west from the south end of Utah Lake." A number of missionary settlements in the west are noted, but no Morman settlements are yet present.

Of note, this is also the base map for Ensign & Thayer's broadside Map of the Gold Regions of California. /gallery/detail/32152

While the map appears occasionally on the market in wall map format, examples such as this, which have been segmented and laid on linen, are extremely rare, this being the first example of the map we have ever seen in this format. The Babinski copy of this map, in wall map format, was sold by Swann Galleries in December 2005 for $4,370 (Item 134).

Condition Description
Dissected and laid on linen, with green silk edges mostly intact. Minor foxing. Includes pencil notes from Thomas Streeter and Ken Nebenzahl.
Reference
Wheat 609;