1856 North America
By: Joseph H. Colton
Date: 1856 (published) New York
Dimensions: 16 x 13 inches (40.5 x 33 cm)
This is an original antique map of North America by Joseph H. Colton, published out of New York in 1856 when the United States was in its pre-civil war era of westward expansion driven by the idea of Manifest Destiny.
The map shows the geo-political makeup of the North American continent during the mid-19th century. The western United States is comprised of several large territories that were still largely unsettled by Anglo-European Americans. Some of the largest territories include New Mexico, Nebraska, Kanzas, Utah, and Oregon. Curiously, the locations of Native American tribes are entirely omitted from this map, as are railroads in the east. These omissions are likely due to the size constraint of the single page used for this map.
The northern portion of the map shows Alaska as Russian Possessions and a rather obvious Northwest Passage which was fair easier to navigate in this map than in real life as the labyrinth of arctic sea ice was ever changing.
Condition: This map is in A condition with bright and bold original color on nicely aged paper with full margins on all sides. Some chipping and toning are apparent along the edges of the paper
Inventory #NA100
1200 W. 35th Street #425 Chicago, IL 60609 | P: (312) 496 - 3622