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1838 Thomas Gamaliel Bradford
$295.00
Description

A gorgeous example of the first edition of Bradford's map. The map is hand colored by counties and shows very early railroads, towns, rivers, forts, post offices and other details.

Bradford's atlas was a departure from other atlases of the period. Along with HS Tanner, Bradford produced an elegant, well engraved large format atlas on high quality paper. The 1830s were a fascinating transitional period in the US and in domestic cartographic publishing. Bradford's work is without question an important part of this era. The maps were engraved by GW Boynton or S. Stiles, Sherman and Smith.

Areas in the northwest that were previously Cherokee and Creek Indian territories have by this point been converted to counties. Bradford uses the double black dot to signify Indian villages, of which there are two: Chatooga Village in Floyd County, and Coosawatee Village in Murray County.

Single black dots signify forts, such as Fort Caines, Fort Scott, Fort Early, and Fort Mitchell.

Thomas Gamaliel Bradford Biography

Thomas Gamaliel Bradford (1802-1887) was an American geographic publisher. He hailed from Bradford, Massachusetts and began his publishing career by working for the America Encyclopedia. Then, he edited and republished the Atlas Designed to Illustrate the Abridgement of Universal Geography, Modern & Ancient, which had originally been offered in French by Adrian Balbi. In 1835, he published another atlas, A Comprehensive Atlas: Geographical, Historical & Commercial, and, in 1838, An Illustrated Atlas Geographical, Statistical and Historical of the United States and Adjacent Countries. His interests were primarily in educational publishing and he was one of the first mapmakers to show Texas as an independent country.