Catalog Archive
Auction 126, Lot 199

"N.W. Territory", Scott, Joseph

Subject: United States - Midwest

Period: 1800 (circa)

Publication: The United States Gazetteer

Color: Hand Color

Size:
6 x 7.5 inches
15.2 x 19.1 cm
Download High Resolution Image
(or just click on image to launch the Zoom viewer)

This is the earliest printed map to show the North West Territory. It covers the region of the upper Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes, and shows the rivers and streams together with settlements, mines and forts. Lit. Fort appears at the mouth of the Chicago River and Old Ft. Orleans appears on the Missouri River. The southern end of Lake Michigan is placed almost a full degree further north than the southern shore of Lake Erie, an error that resulted in a series of boundary disputes between Michigan and its neighbors in the 19th century. The fictitious Charlevoix-Bellin islands appear in Lake Superior. This is the second state which is geographically identical to the first, with only the addition of two small lines to strengthen the tiny circles locating the towns of Detroit, Sandusky, etc.

References: Karpinski (MI) p. 189; Wheat & Brun #674.

Condition: A+

Very nice example. Issued folding, now pressed.

Estimate: $500 - $600

Sold for: $650

Closed on 12/3/2008

Archived