A New and Accurate Map of North America from the best Authorities

Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1814. Map. Engraving with original outline hand coloring. Images measures 14 x 15".

This 1814 map of North America was published in the third and last edition of Carey's "General Atlas". Mapping the continent prior to the explorations of Lewis and Clark, it depicts several interesting features.

Hopeful traces of the Northwest passage appear in the north with the appearance of the seas identified by Mackenzie and Hearne. As we move southward, the Columbia River extends eastward to almost meet the Missouri River. The Rockies end close to the Canadian border and another small cluster of mountains are shown (truncated) near the Colorado River and Rio Grande.

Perhaps the most interesting feature is the appearance of the Kingdom of Quivira south of the River of the West. Quivira is one of the lands associated with the Spanish legends of the Seven Cities of Gold. Florida is shows as part of Spanish possessions. Indian tribes such as the Apacheria, Pimas and Yama are identified. The map is in good condition with some wear along the centerfold. Minor foxing at places and offsetting.

Mathew Carey (1760-1839) was an Irish-born American publisher, bookseller, and economist, as well as one the most important figures of early American cartography. Carey was based in Philadelphia, where he apprenticed for Benjamin Franklin before establishing his own book shop and publishing firm. He is credited with publishing the first American atlases, producing some of the best quality maps and most informative depictions of the United States in the early period after it gained independence. (Inventory #: 328326)