Rare wide margin example of Lucas' map of the United States from his General Atlas. The map was engraved by B.T. Welch & Co. While many of the boundaries of the Eastern States are formed much of the west is comprised of the Oregon Territory and Mexico. Sections of Oregon Terriotry are labeled with Indian names including Shiennes, Sioux, Black Foot, Iaways, and Konzas. Boundary between Canada and the US not definite from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast. North West Territory contains much of present day Wisconsin and some of Minnesota. Arkansas Territory includes much of present day Oklahoma. Missouri is not yet fully formed and Michigan Territory extends into what is now Eastern Wisconsin. Rivers, major cities , mountains, Indian locations, and forts identified. Includes a double wide Arkansas and early representation of Missouri, which became a state in 1821. The map follows the Melish's 1816 map, including early Lewis & Clark details. The mythical rivers from SF to the two Salt Lakes remain. The treatment of the Western US Territories is excellent for the period. The first Coast to Coast US map to appear in an American Atlas. Wheat's omission of this map attests to its rarity. Nice example of Fielding Lucas' fine work, which distinguished him as the best publisher of the era. Lucas' maps are highly desireable and increasingly scarce. A bit of spotting and minor centerfold split in lower margin, just touching image.
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.