No. 15 Map of Oregon and Upper California

Cartographer(s): Samuel Augustus Mitchell
Date: 1846
Place: Philadelphia
Dimensions: 20.4 x 25.4 cm (8 x 10 in)
Condition Rating: VG

Out of stock

SKU: NL-00289 Categories: , Tag:

1846 school atlas map of Oregon and Upper California

Details

This is the smaller school atlas version of Mitchell’s well-known map, which is itself based largely on Fremont’s map of 1845.

This edition has the US/Canadian boundary as we know it today with the notation “Boundary of 1846.” Upper California extends eastward to the Rio Grande and Oregon Territory to the Continental Divide. The map delineates the Oregon Route (Oregon Trail) in good detail as it winds from the Sweetwater River through South Pass to Oregon City.

Numerous Indian tribes and villages and forts are located. An early depiction of the Great Basin is here called the Great Interior Basin of California.

At lower left is the inset “Map of the Columbia River from the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean” which locates Oregon City, Ft. Vancouver, a mission on the Columbia, Mt. Hood, and Mt. St. Helens with a height of 13, 300 feet.

Cartographer(s):

Samuel Augustus Mitchell

Samuel Augustus Mitchell (1790 – 1868) was an American geographer and bookseller. During the middle of the 19th century, he became the dominant commercial publisher of geographic materials in America.

Mitchell worked as a teacher of geography before turning to publishing, but he found the materials available to students both antiquated and lacking, so he decided to abandon teaching in favor of producing geographic textbooks and maps. He quickly became one of America’s greatest cartographic publishers and played a decisive role in making Americans aware of their country’s geography.

Condition Description

Light soiling and a few tiny edge tears that have been professionally repaired.

References

Wheat (TMW) #518; Wheat (Gold) #28.