Catalog Archive
Auction 146, Lot 834

"Tunison's Peerless Universal Atlas of the World", Tunison, H. C.

Subject: Atlases

Period: 1892 (dated)

Publication:

Color: Hand Color

Size:
12.3 x 14.3 inches
31.2 x 36.3 cm
Download High Resolution Image
(or just click on image to launch the Zoom viewer)

This is a lovely and unusual atlas complete with over 80 wax engraved, hand colored maps and diagrams, most with decorative borders and some with vignettes. Thirty-six maps relate to the United States. The map of California, Oregon, and Nevada is particularly nice with insets of Yosemite and the Redwoods. Most of the maps are printed on both sides. Also featured are two pages of presidential portraits and numerous engravings showing the diverse civilizations and cultures of the world. The last map is "Map of the Regions about the Unknown North Polar Sea Showing the Latest Exploring Expeditions." These maps are uncommon for their late hand coloring, a laborious process that was largely abandoned two decades earlier. Small folio, 207 pp. Hardbound in original, embossed brown cloth boards. A very lovely example of this increasingly difficult to find atlas.

References:

Condition: B

Maps and text are very good to near fine with some very light toning and occasional small spots. There is a damp stain along the left edge of the title page, the front endpaper is torn, the covers are separated, and the spine has perished.

Estimate: $400 - $500

Sold for: $300

Closed on 9/4/2013

Archived