Catalog Archive
Auction 126, Lot 368

"Map of the Californias", Farnham, Thomas J.

Subject: Southwestern United States & Mexico

Period: 1845 (dated)

Publication: Morse's North American Atlas

Color: Printed Color

Size:
11 x 14 inches
27.9 x 35.6 cm
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This is a very nice, pre-Fremont map of the West. The map shows Upper California just one year before the Mexican-American war, which resulted in Mexico's loss of the region to the United States. It locates the pre-gold rush settlement of "Suter's" Colony just east of the southwest-flowing Sacramento River with a Volcano nearby, which is likely the Marysville Butte. Mount Shasta is here named Mt. Jackson with the Sierra Nevada mountains located between it and the coast. Farnham details an emigrant route that travels up the Arkansas River to Farnham's Pass then across the country of Brown's Hole, to the Bear River, around the north shore of L. Timpanigos (Great Salt Lake), eventually to the upper San Joaquin and on to the bay at Yerba Buena, today's San Francisco. The map was drawn by Thomas J. Farnham, author of Travels in the Californias, based on his talks with the trapper Ewing Young and a letter from Dr. John H. Lyman of Buffalo, N.Y., who had earlier traveled on the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to Los Angeles. Of special interest are the small icons locating the 21 missions of Upper California. An unfolded example of this cerographic map is from the third volume of Morse and Breese's important atlas. It was also issued folded in Farnham's Travels in the Californias.

References: Wheat (Gold) #20; Wheat (TMW) #494.

Condition: A

Color has been added to the border and lettering.

Estimate: $350 - $425

Unsold

Closed on 12/3/2008

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