Lot 1324

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Description:

Rare double hemisphere world pictorial map: "World At One View", by "H. Phelps", ca. 1857, 31" x 22 1/2" (sight). This hand-colored lithographed map is surrounded by several illustrations and four text boxes, mostly containing population tables of world cities, countries, continents and world religions. Discussing the version of this map published in 1852, scholar Matthew Edney points out that the underlying message of the various illustrations presents a "vision of the United States of America as the next great world empire." He cites the bottom illustration -- a horizontal scroll of monuments from China through India, Egypt, Rome, Paris and London to New York at the far right. The message is also reinforced in a table of the highest buildings of the world, which lists grand Old World monuments like St. Peter's in Rome and the Egyptian pyramids, but also includes Boston's Bunker Hill Monument and Baltimore's Washington Monument. The 1847 version also includes an additional horizontal illustration at the top that explicitly positions the U.S. as an ascendant economic power, showing points along the journey from China on the left to the port of New York on the right, captioned, "Panoramic View of the Route to China, by the Oregon Railroad and the Pacific Ocean. This Road once Built, would become the Great Highway of Nations." Each corner has a portrait of a man from a different continent set in a rectangular border, representing different races: "Caucasian", "Mongul," "Malay" and "African", the African interestingly dressed in western garb. An illustration spanning the width of the map shows "Female Costumes of the Different Parts of the World." To the left and right of the map are illustrations of relative heights of major mountain peaks, in the center a chart of the lengths of the world's rivers. In the title appears an illustration of a Native American with a feather headdress and holding up a tomahawk. The map shows national boundaries, with major cities, rivers and bodies of water, and islands labeled; major mountain ranges are shaded. The border and portions of the surrounding illustrations are hand-colored in tints of yellow and green. This 1847 map is the second version of five known maps with related titles, illustrations, and themes by related publishers. "Pictorial View of the World", the original edition, was published by Humphrey Phelps, copyright 1846. "World at One View" was copyrighted by H. Phelps in 1847 and published by Ensigns & Thayer, New York. There are three marginal tears barely intruding on the printed border, along with some water staining at top and spotting at right. Two small dark spots also appear in the North Pacific, otherwise the map, in its original frame, in very good condition.

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July 31, 2019 10:00 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000