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Description

Colored To Show The Slave & Confederate States and Territories

Fine 4-sheet map of North America, published in London by Edward Stanford.

One of the best large format maps of North America published in London during the Civil War. The map is color coded to show the various states and territories of the United States based upon their Civil War Status:

  • Green - Union States
  • Grey - Confederate States
  • Yellow - Territories

Coming shortly after the discovery of the Northwest Passage and just before the US acquisition of Alaska, the map provides a highly detailed treatment of North America.

The Western Territorial Boundaries are nearly fixed, although the Nevada-Utah border has not yet been shifted to the east for the second time.

There are also some clear errors, including:

  • Truncation of Idaho Territory by Washington Territory, extending to far east.
  • The bottom of Nevada is truncated, putting Las Vegas in Arizona.
  • The configuration of Wyoming's western border is not accurate.

While dated 1863, the map was issued circa 1868, the year Wyoming became a Territory.

A fine example of this highly collectable map.

Edward Stanford Biography

Edward Stanford (1827-1904) was a prominent British mapmaker and publisher. A native of Holborn in the heart of London, Edward was apprenticed to a printer and stationer at the age of 14. After his first master died, he worked with several others, including Trelawny W. Saunders of Charing Cross. Saunders oversaw young Edward’s early career, ensuring that he became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Associations with the Society eventually brought Sanders much business and gave him a reputation as a publisher of explorers. As testament to this reputation, the Stanford Range in British Columbia was named for him by John Palliser.

Stanford briefly partnered with Saunders in 1852 before striking out on his own in 1853. He was an agent for the Ordnance Survey, the Admiralty, the Geological Survey, the Trigonometrical Survey of India, and the India Office. He also controlled the maps of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, another lucrative source of income. In 1857, Stanford founded his namesake Geographical Establishment, with Saunders and A. K. Johnston as engravers. Thereafter, Stanford was known for his “library maps”, particularly those of Africa and Asia.

Although he had authored many maps, the Harrow Atlas of Modern Geography and a similar volume on classical geography, Stanford is better remembered today as the leader of a successful map business. Ever in search of more inventory, he acquired the plates and stock of John Arrowsmith, heir of the Arrowmsith family firm, in 1874. By 1881 he employed 87 people at his premises at 6 Charing Cross Road, Saunders’ old address. As he aged, he phased in his son Edward Jr. to run the business. He died in 1904. The business survived him, and the Stanford’s shop is still a prominent London landmark today.