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Stock# 69474
Description

Hand-Colored World Map with "Female Costumes" of the World

In the Publisher's Pictorial Cloth Binding

An elaborate gazetteer of the world, with descriptions of each continent (excluding Antarctica). The largest section concerns North America, comprising a quite detailed history and description of each of the states and the territories. Each state has a full-page map, and some have additional city maps, and there is a bird's eye view of New York City. The map of Texas depicts the Texas Panhandle in a separate inset, labeled "Texas, Northern Part." The map of Florida also cuts the state, with the "West Part of Florida" in an inset. The California section includes a street map of San Francisco, in addition to the map of the state. And each of the territories is teated as such: Territory of New Mexico, Territory of Minnesota, Territory of Utah, Washington Territory, Oregon Territory,  There is also a full-page map for each continent. An excellent source of information on the state of the world's geography in the mid-19th century.

A lengthy footnote on page 479 describes the recent gold discoveries in Australia: "Although gold has only so recently been found in large quantities in Australia, rumors of its existence have for several years been prevalent in the colony... The emigration to Australia, at the present time (1853), from England and the United States, is said to average about 1,000 daily."

In a bow to a nascent globalization due to technological innovation ("All Nations... brought together by Steam & Telegraph) the cover sports an elaborate allegorical image depicting an American man shaking hands with a Chinese man, surrounded with numerous symbols, both old and new: smokestacks, masted-ships, a beehive (for industry), a Chinese junk, a horn of plenty or cornucopia, with an eagle soaring above wielding an olive branch.

Map of the World and Female Costumes of Different Parts of the World

The folding hand-colored map of the world is beautifully and elaborately decorated with woodcut views of various exotic locales, including the pyramids in Egypt and scenes in India, but also an American farmer wielding his horse-drawn plough. The map also includes depictions of the world's human "races" (with the "Angle-Saxon" man prominently displayed at top center), and  notably including a Sandwich Islander, Esquimaux, Patagonian, Kamtschatkan, Papuan, S. Australian, Tasmanian, Bushman, Mozambique Negro, Swarthy Calmuc, among several other European and Asian peoples. But perhaps most wonderfully, are the illustrations of thirty-nine "female costumes" along the bottom edge, showing full-standing views of women from different parts of the world, including the traditional dresses from the Americas: Modern Peru, Ancient Peru, Paraguay, Esquimaux, Buenos Ayres, Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Madison Island, and Sandwich Islands.

Rarity

The first edition of this work appeared in 1853, yet all early editions of the work are scarce in the market, especially so with the folding map intact and in nice condition.

Condition Description
Octavo. Original publisher's gilt pictorial cloth binding. Spine ends and corners slightly frayed. Gilt spine decoration rather faded. Some foxing on endpapers, but else internally very clean and nice. Overall a tight, very nice copy. Frontispiece and numerous in text woodcuts. Folding map with hand coloring, with some minor offsetting, some old spot stains on verso of sheet, withal in excellent condition. 500 pages. Complete.
Reference
Sabin 77225 (1853 edition).
Charles C. Savage Biography