Beschreibung:

Map of Pennsylvania, constructed from the County Surveys authorized by the State; and other original Documents.
Philadelphia: B. Tanner, [1826]. Engraved map printed on six sheets, joined and dissected to four at a contemporary date [see below], brightly hand-colored in outline (approx. 1300 x 1830 mm overall). Engraved vignette depicting the Pennsylvania coat of arms above the title, statistical tables, textual inset titled “General Information relative to the Plan, Materials and Construction of the Map.” Manuscript additions to the references table, indicating canals (both completed and proposed) and railroads. Printed on thin “banknote” paper. Original roan and paper-covered board slipcase. Condition : a bright, fresh copy without significant edge tears or separations at folds; slipcase worn and with a hole. the most detailed and accurate map of pennsylvania issued to that date and famed cartographer john melish’s “greatest published work.” Writing to the Pennsylvania Secretary of State S. D. Ingraham on 4 January 1821, Melish described the work on this map and his hopes for its lasting importance: “This work, being Constructed on a plan calculated to last for ages, and framed with a view of forming a model for the United States generally, I trust it will be by far the most useful, as well as the most ornamental map ever published in this Country.” The plan to which he referred began in 1816, with Melish receiving the approval of the state legislature to collect accurate surveys of each separate county in the state upon which to base his large map. It took Melish nearly four years to complete the state map, delivering the initial copies at the end of 1822. Tragically, Melish died shortly thereafter and was unable to see the outcome of his efforts. Following his death, Benjamin Tanner the engraver of the original map, after much difficulty (see Babinski) reissued the work several times after 1824 with various additions. This 1826 fourth issue, first state (with a line below the title reading “Corrected and Improved to 1826” and with the manuscript additions to the References) includes hand-colored depictions of canals and railroads not found on earlier versions. The 1822 first edition and the map’s successive issues were each published in a variety of formats: wall maps, case maps, on banknote paper folding into a travelling case (as the present copy) and even on vellum. Versions of the latter two are rarely encountered, with most extant copies as varnished wall maps on rollers or on regular paper dissected and linen backed. The thin and delicate nature of banknote paper makes this fresh copy an amazing survival. The dissection of the map into four large sheets was accomplished at a contemporary date, as on verso are ink notations identifying each sheets: N.E., S.E., N.W., and S.W. “The State Map of Pennsylvania has been described as John Melish’s greatest published work” (Ristow). Babinski, “The Sad Story of Attorneys & Government vs. Mapmakers” in Map Forum, No. 9; Ristow, A La Carte, pp. 153-161; Ristow, American Maps and Mapmakers, pp. 110-115.