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Description

Scarce map of the upper Midwest by David Burr, one of the most interesting and important map makers of the early 19th century, who is perhaps best known for his Postal Atlas and 1833 Map of Texas.

The map accompanied the Report on the Illinois Central Rail-Road, published in 1837. Includes nice coverage of the Great Lakes region, most notably the very early territorial appearance of Wisconsin, with virtually no settlements.

When Wisconsin became a territory in 1836, it included what is now northern Michigan. This map shows the "Toledo Strip" land claimed by both Michigan and Ohio. When the strip was awarded to Ohio, Michigan was compensated with northern Michigan.

An interesting and significant map as it shows their respective claims and also notes Indiana's revised northern boundary. Wisconsin came from the term "Ouisconsin" which is believed to mean "grassy place" in the Chippewa tongue.

Reference
Clausen & Friis, 168.
David Hugh Burr Biography

David H. Burr studied law, passing the New York Bar Exam, and then surveying under Simeon DeWitt in New York. His first atlas was an atlas of New York State (1829), the second state atlas to be issued in the US (after Mills’ Atlas of South Carolina in 1826). In the 1830s, he served as the official topographer for the US Post Office, producing a series of rare and highly sought-after large-format state maps. He also created a map of the country’s postal routes, which features roads, canals, and railroads. Burr traveled to London to work with John Arrowsmith; together, they produced the American Atlas in 1839.

Upon his return to the States, Burr was appointed as a draftsman for the House of Representatives, where he worked until ca. 1841. He later worked for the Louisiana Survey and the Florida Survey. By 1850, he was back in Washington D. C., working on the census. In 1852, the Senate named Burr as the draftsman to compile maps from the Federal Surveys. In 1853, Burr traveled to San Francisco, perhaps as part of his work for the Senate. He was then named as the Surveyor General of Utah in 1855. However, he was unpopular there and returned to Washington D. C. by 1870. Burr is widely regarded as one of the most important names in the nineteenth-century American history of cartography.