"Map of North America Delineating the Mountain System and its Details, the Great Calcareous Plain as a Unit and the Continuous Encircling Maritime Selvage", Gilpin, William

William Gilpin was the first governor of the territory of Colorado and a proponent of the concept of Manifest Destiny, the transcontinental railway, and a westward expansion of the United States. He had radical ideas on how America should be populated, and why, and to support his theories he did a series of maps including this one. Interestingly, they were some of the first to show economic potential for the West and to think in terms of regional resources and climates. The map uses bold coloring to suggest related regions and uses concentric circles, which Gilpin used to represent the future population density with the center of population at Topeka, Kansas. Blank verso, second edition.

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Condition: B

Attractive color with toning along folds, two splits at fold intersections and a 1" binding tear at left. Issued folding.