1827 Indiana
DESCRIPTION
By: Arthur Finley
Date: 1827 (published) Philadelphia
Dimensions: 12 x 9 inches
This 1827 map of Indiana, published by Anthony Finley, captures the state just over a decade after its admission to the Union in 1816. It offers a detailed view of Indiana in its formative years, when settlement was concentrated in the south while much of the north remained unsettled or under Native control.
Examining the Map
Finely engraved and hand-colored, the map shows counties shaded in alternating tones, towns and villages identified, and major rivers such as the Wabash, White, and Tippecanoe carefully delineated. Along the northern edge appears the Michigan Territory, with adjoining lands still marked as Native domains.
The southern portion of Indiana is divided into small, closely packed counties, reflecting the early concentration of settlement along the Ohio River and its tributaries. From these river communities, population gradually spread northward, though much of the upper half of the state remained unorganized in the 1820s. The capital at Indianapolis, newly established in 1825 at the geographic center of the state, is prominently marked.
Native American Lands
The map also identifies the homelands of several Native nations, including the Miami, Delaware, Kickapoo, Pottawatomie, and Ottawa, whose territories dominated northern Indiana. Though recent treaties had opened portions of land to U.S. settlement, these groups maintained a strong presence until the removals of the 1830s. Indiana at this time was thus a landscape of overlapping frontiers, where Native lands and American expansion coexisted uneasily on the same map.
Anthony Finley (c. 1790–1840) was a prominent Philadelphia publisher and bookseller known for producing high-quality atlases, wall maps, and school geographies during the early 19th century. Active primarily between 1822 and 1834, Finley drew upon the latest surveys and government reports, often adapting the work of Aaron Arrowsmith and other European cartographers for the American market. His New General Atlas, first issued in 1824, became one of the most widely circulated American atlases of the era, praised for its clarity, fine engraving, and accessible size. Finley’s maps, engraved by notable artisans such as Young & Delleker, catered to an expanding audience of schools, libraries, and middle-class households, as the American appetite grew for accurate cartography of their rapidly developing nation.
Condition: Map is in very fine condition with subtle damp-staining in the lower right portion of the map. Still, colors are bold, the plate impression is strong and margins are wide on all sides.
CONDITION
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