Carey, pub. 1796 - Chart of the West Indies

Carey, pub. 1796 - Chart of the West Indies
This fine map engraving is from one of the ealiest American atlases published in the states: Mathew Carey's General Atlas. The work was published in Philadelphia by Carey in 1796. It was an important early American Atlas showing the early states and the developing landscape of America to that point. The atlas also included numerous maps of Europe as well as world maps, Africa, Asia, South America, polar projection, and the West Indies.

"Following the Revolution, there was considerable activity in the United States by American mapmakers and publishers. One of them, Mathew Carey, was a pioneer in producing cartographic works. In 1795 Carey published The General Atlas for Carey's Edition of Guthrie's Geography Improved. William Guthrie's popular textbook was originally issued in London in 1770 . The sixteen maps of American states included were reprinted with five others in his American Atlas, which was also published in 1795. The engravers of the maps in both atlases were Barker, Scott, James Thackara, and John Vallance, all of Philadelphia, Samuel Hill of Boston, Amos Doolittle of New Haven, and Benjamin Tanner of New York" (Ristow).

Mathew Carey (1760-1839) was one of the most important figures of early American cartography. He was an Irish immigrant that established the first American cartographic publishing firm. He recruited craftsman for engraving, printing, and coloring of his maps.

The work is in good tovery good condition overall. The lower border is printed close to the lower edge with the plate mark cropped. There was separation at the fold with archival tape placed to verso. Some of the engravings in the work will have some faint toning or minor separation at the folds. There can be some very light offset, fox marks or toned spots. There may be a few minor imperfections due to age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.
~ 18 1/4" by 14 1/4" (Fold Out)