"Kentucky",

This pictorial map of "the Dark and Bloody Ground" or "the Bluegrass State" is by Karl Smith, a prolific mapmaker based in Louisville. Several towns and cities and major rivers are located, and the state is filled with black and white illustrations, with the headquarters for Old Fitzgerald bourbon the only thing highlighted in peach. Surrounding the state are vignettes, including the Kentucky cardinal, Richard Henderson and Daniel Boone negotiating the purchase of the land from the Cherokees, and the first meeting of the Kentucky legislature in 1775. The map is further decorated by a title cartouche featuring the state seal, the opening measures of "My Old Kentucky Home," and a compass rose. The border incorporates 22 vignettes, including the Old Statehouse, Mammoth Cave, Cumberland Falls, Daniel Boone, and Churchill Downs, and an advertisement for Old Fitzgerald. This is the least common of Smith's maps of Kentucky.

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Condition: B

A colorful example that has been trimmed to the neatline with some tiny chips and short edge tears that just enter into the map border. There are small light stains at left and old tape on the verso edges.