This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/20/2022
[MAP]. LONG, Stephen Harriman (1784–1864). Geographical, Statistical and Historical Map of Arkansas Territory. Philadelphia: H.C. Carey and I. Lea, 1822.
Engraved map with hand–coloring (448 x 553 mm), some tape repairs along fold verso, some marginal toning. The cartouche reads “Map of Arkansa and Other Territories of the United States” from Carey & Lea’s atlas which was the first to use explanatory text along the borders which Wheat calls “the most interesting map in the Atlas… and a distinct step forward in the mapping of the West”.
An important map of the trans–Mississippi West, showing for the first time, Arkansas as a separate territory from Missouri and Louisiana just before statehood. The map also charts Major Stephen Long’s 1819–20 western expedition and shows again for the first time the area to the west of Arkansas named the “Great Desert”. Long believed that this area was unsuitable for family and would be better served as a buffer between the United States and foreign territories. His mapping of the Platte River would facilitate the huge migration of settlers, Mormons and gold seekers in the coming decades. THIS IS THE FIRST PUBLISHED MAP TO SHOW MISSOURI AS A STATE. Wheat, Transmississippi West 348.