1836 Nouvelle Carte des Etats-Unis des Haut et Bas-Canada....
Date: 1836 (dated) Paris
Dimensions: 24.5 x 36 inches (62.25 x 91.5 cm)
This is an exceptional example of a most impressive map of American with several inset maps, including an important inset of the Oregon Territory and the districts of the Mandan, Osage, and Sioux Nations. The map was published in Paris by Adrienne Hubert Brue who was know for his remarkable attention to detail and information found in his maps.
The present work features the United States from the eastern seaboard to the high plains just east of the Rocky Mountains. At this time, the United States was "settled" as far west as the Mississippi with Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana being the most western states. Chicago would be officially incorporated as a city just one year later in 1837, Wisconsin and Minnesota have yet to be established as territories and are still part of the Northwest Territory, and the land that makes up Iowa and the Dakotas is recognized as Indian Territory belonging to the Sioux Nation.
State of Affairs in the South with Regards to the Indian Removal Act
In the south, one can find ancestral lands of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Cherokee (civilized) outlined in orange, within the states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. These same tribal names as well as several others can be found just west of the Mississippi in what would later become Indian Territory and eventually Kansas and Oklahoma. This is due to the timing of the publication of Brue's map coinciding with the early years of the Indian Removal Act, spearheaded by President Andrew Jackson in which tens of thousands of Native Americans were forcibly relocated west of the Mississippi. Thousands lost their lives along the journey and all lost their way of life upon their arrival. This event which lasted nearly two decades is most famously remembered as the "Trail of Tears."
Oregon Territory at the Dawn of Westward Emigration
Looking further to the west (or in the lower right corner) we come upon the Pacific Northwest or the Oregon Territory. The information provided in Brue's map on the interior of this country is largely derived from the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-05. Upon close examination one will find camps established by the Northwest Company, the names of several indigenous tribes, the location of the mountain pass used by the expedition between the Columbia and Missouri rivers, and some recognizable landmarks such as Mt. Saint Helens and Mt. Olympus. Prior to the discovery of gold in California, this fertile region with friendly natives and more land than anyone would ever need was the treasure sought by over 200,000 settlers who traversed the Oregon Trail with the first migrant train of wagons leaving Independence Missouri in 1836.
Inset Maps and Descriptive Text
Additional inset maps include the environs of Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Trenton, Newfoundland, and the southern half of the Florida territory which had been claimed from Spain in 1819. Throughout this map, one will find several paragraphs of descriptive text in French that detail ongoing treaties (and disputes), topography of the land and seasonal changes, the current state of the Hudson Bay Company, and many other interesting topic pertinent to the region in the 1830s.
Condition: Map is in A condition with exceptional old color over a sharp steal plate engraving on sturdy paper. Margins are full on all sides and do not contain any significant tears or holes. Some acid burn from prior matting is apparent around the map image. This is an overall exceptional example of this scarce map, the best we have ever come across.
Inventory #12244
1200 W. 35th Street #425 Chicago, IL 60609 | P: (312) 496 - 3622