Rare Early Edition of The Lucas Map of Tennessee
Handsome example of Fielding Lucas's early map of Tennessee, from his New & Elegant General Atlas of the United States . . .
There are a number of unnamed counties in the west. Henry, Carrol and Madison County are all named, having been created in November 1821.
Striking example of Fielding Lucas' fine work, which distinguished him as the best publisher of the era. His maps are printed on a higher quality paper than contemporary maps by Carey & Lea and demonstrate a superior engraving quality and more attractive coloring style.
Rarity
All Fielding Lucas maps are rare, but the pre-1823 maps are especially rare.
This is the first time we have ever seen this map offered for sale.
Fielding Lucas, Jr. (1781-1854) was a prominent American cartographer, engraver, artist, and public figure during the first half of the 19th century.
Lucas was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia and moved to Philadelphia as a teenager, before settling in Baltimore. There he launched a successful cartographic career. Lucas's first atlas was announced in early- to mid-1812, with production taking place between September 1812 and December of 1813, by which point the engravings were complete. Bound copies of the atlas -- A new and elegant general atlas: Containing maps of each of the United States -- were available early in the next year, beating Carey to market by about two months. Lucas later published A General Atlas Containing Distinct Maps Of all the known Countries in the World in the early 1820s.