First and Only Edition of One of the Great American Atlases of 19th Century.
One of Anthony Finley's greatest works, the 1826 American Atlas was intended to compete with Tanner's A New American Atlas.
The plates for this atlas were eventually sold to Samuel Augustus Mitchell who brought out a revised edition under his own name in 1831.
Complement of Maps
- North America
- United States
- Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont
- Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island
- New York
- Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware
- Virginia and Maryland
- North and South Carolina, and Georgia
- Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama
- Kentucky and Tennessee
- Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and part of Michigan Territory
- Missouri and Territory of Arkansas
- Florida and Elevation of Mountains
- West Indies
- South America
Anthony Finley (1784-1836) was an American map publisher. Little is known about his life. He is presumed to have been born in Philadelphia, where he also died. A publisher, Finley was also involved in several Philadelphia civic and professional societies such as the Philadelphia Apprentices’ Library. He may have been in business as early as 1809 and his first publication dates from ca. 1811.
His first maps also date from this year, with two maps in Daniel Edward Clarke’s Travels in Various Countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The first atlas published by Finley appeared in 1818, the Atlas classica, or, Select maps of ancient geography, both sacred and profane, for the use of colleges and schools in the United States. He is best known for his A New General Atlas Comprising a Complete Set of Maps (1824), which was a bestseller. There were two editions in 1824, with annual editions until 1834.
Finley was part of the first generation of American publishers who produced high quality, precise maps on American soil. He was in competition with other Philadelphia publishers, for example Henry S. Tanner. Finley’s A New American Atlas Designed Principally to Illustrate the Geography of the United States of America (1826) closely mirrors Tanner’s A New American Atlas Containing Maps of the Several States of the North American Union, with similar groupings of maps; the main difference is the smaller scale of Finley’s maps. Finley printed two editions of this atlas.