1873 Map of North America in Which Are Delineated the Mountain System as a Unit, the Great Calcareous Plain and its Details, and the Continuous Encircling Maritime Selvage
DESCRIPTION
A visually impressive map of North America presenting the continent as a unified geographic system and illustrating William Gilpin's sweeping theories about mountains, plains, coastlines, and the future development of the continent.
Published in 1873, the map extends from the Arctic to Central America and uses extensive hand coloring to organize enormous geographic regions into a continental whole. Two bold red circles overlay the map, emphasizing the interior of North America and reinforcing Gilpin's belief in the central importance of the continent's temperate interior.
The Physical Architecture of North America
Gilpin divides the continent into three enormous components: the “Mountain System,” the “Great Calcareous Plain,” and the continuous encircling “Maritime Selvage.” The Rocky Mountains and western cordillera form a vast north south backbone, while the enormous interior plain extends from the Canadian interior through the Mississippi Valley. Coastal regions form what Gilpin called the Maritime Selvage, creating an outer zone surrounding the continental interior. Rather than presenting mountains, plains, and coasts simply as topographic features, Gilpin treats them as interconnected components of a larger geographic system.
The underlying cartography contains considerable contemporary detail, identifying states and territories, cities, rivers, mountain ranges, transportation routes, and the enormous geography of British North America. The brightly colored political and geographic divisions make the map particularly decorative, while the superimposed circles reveal that its purpose extended beyond conventional cartography. Gilpin was attempting to identify the geographic center and physical organization of the continent and connect those natural features with his theories concerning settlement, transportation, and national development.
William Gilpin and His Vision of the West
The map is closely associated with William Gilpin (1813–1894), Colorado Territory's first governor and one of the nineteenth century's most enthusiastic advocates for the settlement and development of the American West. Gilpin viewed the Rocky Mountains not simply as an obstacle to migration but as the geographic backbone of a future continental nation. His ideas combined geography with an expansive vision of Manifest Destiny, agriculture, population growth, and especially transcontinental railroads that would connect the interior with the rest of the country.
Published as one of six maps accompanying his Mission of the North American People, this sheet converts the physical geography of North America into a visual argument for Gilpin's belief that the continent formed a naturally integrated geographic and economic system.
CONDITION
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