Map of Oregon Territory.

$550

Cartographer(s): Samuel Parker
Date: 1838
Place: Utica, NY
Dimensions: 60 x 37 cm (23.5 x 15 in)
Condition Rating: VG

In stock

SKU: NL-01896 Categories: , ,

One of the earliest maps of Oregon Territory.

Details

A fine example of one of the landmark maps of the American West, this is Presbyterian minister Samuel Parker’s 1838 map of the Oregon Territory and nearby regions, including all or portions of modern Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Although it contains a small number of errors, omissions, and cartographic myths, Parker’s map was a significant improvement on earlier maps of the interior of the Oregon Territory. Mountains, rivers, lakes, forts (including Vancouver, Walla Walla as W. W., and Hall), and other features are recorded in great detail. Native American groups are named throughout, a special interest of Parker’s given his missionary endeavors.  Some of the spellings employed here are no longer standard but still recognizable (Mt. Shasty, Spokein). A previous owner has added a small annotation at bottom noting the location of San Carlos (?) near Denver.

This map was prepared by Samuel Parker and engraved by M. M. Peabody in Utica for Parker’s 1838 book Journal of an Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains.

Cartographer(s):

Samuel Parker

Samuel Parker (1779 – 1866) was a Presbyterian minister who was an early explorer and missionary in the Oregon Territory. A native of Massachusetts, he attended Williams College and Andover Theological Seminary. After practicing as a minister for some twenty years in New York, he decided to go West in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark to preach to Native Americans. He initially stopped at the Green River rendezvous of the American Fur Company, then camped at the Hudson Bay Company’s outpost at Fort Vancouver. He travelled through the interior of the Oregon Territory, including the Willamette Valley, determining suitable sites for future missions. Afterwards, Parker returned east, reported his findings, which became influential on later missionaries, and then wrote an account of his travels entitled Journal of an Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains.

Condition Description

Very good. Professionally restored. Small stain in upper left.

References

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