Catalog Archive
Auction 149, Lot 173

"N.W. Territory", Scott, Joseph

Subject: Central United States

Period: 1800 (circa)

Publication: The United States Gazetteer

Color: Black & White

Size:
6.2 x 7.3 inches
15.7 x 18.5 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. Accompanied by three loose sheets of text containing an entry on the North West Territory.

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

Condition: B+

Issued folding, now flat, with light soiling.

Estimate: $500 - $650

Sold for: $375

Closed on 5/21/2014

Archived