1855 Map of That Portion of the Boundary between the United States and Mexico...
Map of That Portion of the Boundary between the United States and Mexico From the Pacific Coast To The Junction of the Gila and Colorado Rivers... Showing also the Limits of the Treaty Negotiated by the Hon. James Gadsden
By: Andrew B. Gray
Date: 1855 (dated) Washington D.C.
Dimensions: 21.75 x 49 inches (55.25 x 124.5 cm)
The map that first presented the current southern border of the United States with Mexico through the Gadsen Purchase of 1854, signed at the Treaty of Mesilla.
This important map by Andrew Grey presents the U.S. Mexico border from the Southern California coast, which included the towns of Los Angeles and San Diego to the area just east of El Paso, Texas. The map was created to show the purchase of nearly 30,000 square miles of what is now much of southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico from the financially strapped government of Santa Anna for the price of $10 million.
The purchase came about as a result of disputes during the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo at the terminus of the Mexican-American war in 1848. While the treaty was effective in ending the was and finalized much of the border, it left issues affecting both sides that still needed to be resolved. These issues included the possession of the Mesilla Valley for a United States railroad, protection for Mexico from constant raids by the Apache and Comanche tribes.
The map itself is very inviting with clear and intriguing details. There are several geographical notes pertaining to areas of abundant water and timber, or lands suitable for cotton, copper and gold mines, sand hills, etc. Proposed railroad routes traverse the map from end to end while wagon roads, and trails of Native American tribes are delineated throughout. The location of the Apache, Yuma, and Cocopa tribes are noted in large block letters and physical topography of canyons is rendered beautifully throughout.
The map includes a table of reference with the latitude and longitude of principal points. There is also a fine inset map of the port of San Diego in the lower right and a cross sectional profile of the country from the Rio Grande to the Gulf of California at the bottom of the map.
Condition: This map is in A condition with dark print on clean white paper. The map has been professionally linen-backed for preservation and presentation purposes, a reversible process.
Inventory #11912
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