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Description

"The most distinguished atlas published in the United States during the engraving period" (Ristow).

18 engraved maps (16 double-page, the North America on four double-page sheets, and the South America on two.) Engraved title, 1 index leaf, 18 pages.

Folio. Expertly bound to style in red half leather over marbled-paper boards; flat spine in six compartments, gilt ruled, gilt-lettered in the second: "Tanner's American Atlas."

Tanner's New American Atlas is without question the finest set of maps of America to appear in an American published atlas. 

The atlas was highly regarded immediately after its publication, with one periodical noting the New American Atlas "is decidedly one of the most splendid works of the kind ever executed in this country" (United States Gazette, September 1823) and another stating never "has either America or Europe, produced a geographical description of the several States of the Union, so honorable to the Arts, and so creditable to the nation as Tanner's American Atlas." (National Advocate 25 August 1824). Perhaps the most enthusiastic report came from the scholar Jared Sparks who wrote in the April 1824 issue of the North American Review that "as an American Atlas, we believe Mr. Tanner's work to hold a rank far above any other, which has been published."

The Atlas and Its Editions

Tanner's Atlas was first issued in five separate parts which were published from 1819 to 1823. The second edition was issued in 1825, and the atlas was updated many times over the next decade. The later issues (such as the present) tend to be rare and more detailed.

Rumsey (2589) says of the atlas: 

One of the finest American atlases... Tanner updated the maps frequently over the next decade, and issued several editions or compilations of the atlas with the title pages dated 1823 or 1825, but with some of the maps dated as late as 1833. The collation of our five issues shows that no two copies are alike and that the maps were being constantly updated; however the choice of maps for each edition reveals a somewhat haphazard approach with some of the earliest states of a particular map appearing the one of the later atlas editions. A completely revised edition was issued in 1839, with the title page and most of the maps dated 1839 (see P1382).

The present example of the atlas is one of these desirable later issues, with a number of maps dated 1833.

Complement of Maps

  1. The World on Mercators Projection
  2. Europe
  3. Asia
  4. Africa New edition, improved to 1828.
  5. America
  6. South America With Improvements to 1821, By H. S. Tanner.
  7. A Map of North America, Constructed According to the Latest Information: by H. S. Tanner. Improved to 1829.
  8. Map of the States of Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut & Rhode Island By H. S. Tanner
  9. New York By H.S. Tanner
  10. Virginia Maryland and Delaware By H. S. Tanner. 1833
  11. Ohio and Indiana By H.S. Tanner.
  12. Kentucky and Tennessee By H.S. Tanner. 1827
  13. Map of North & South Carolina By H.S. Tanner. 1827
  14. Georgia and Alabama By H.S. Tanner.
  15. Louisiana and Mississippi By H.S. Tanner.
  16. Illinois and Missouri by H.S. Tanner. 1833
  17. Map of Florida by H.S. Tanner.

The Map of North America

Tanner's map of North America, first issued in 1822, is about the most important map of North America from the 19th century. The noted American collector Carl Wheat writes:

This map was a landmark - a great cartographical achievement ... Tanner made good use of a large number of intervening map, those of interest here being Humboldt's 'New Spain,' Pike's various maps, Long's map, and Pedro Walker's 'Map of New California' ... This 1822 map of North America was the progenitor of a long line of famous maps. (Wheat, II: pp. 82-87).

The map illustrates the extent of the discoveries of Lewis & Clark, and combines the information from the expeditions of Pike, James, and a host of other overland surveys, into this spectacular large format work. The treatment of the Mississippi and Missouri Valleys is extraordinary, as is the detail along the Columbia River Basin. The map also illustrates the two mythical rivers flowing from the area just west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, draining the mythical lakes of Timpanagos and Teguayo. Tanner's treatment of the Rocky Mountain Region, Texas, Oregon Territory and Hudson Bay Company lands are also truly noteworthy.

This atlas has the state

Conclusion

Tanner's New American Atlas is a centerpiece for any collection of American atlases. It is a work of great importance, having launched Henry Schenk Tanner to the forefront of American map publishing; his career would see him publish many other landmarks, including for example the Stephen F. Austin 1830 map of Texas and the birth of the New Universal Atlas, which would go on to be published by Tanner and later publishers until the Civil War.

Condition Description
Old (publisher's) color expertly retouched to style.
Reference
Howes T29; cf. Ristow, American Maps and Map Makers,193-198; cf. Rumsey 2589; Sabin 94323.