Map of A Great Country, Lying Between the Ocean of Nativity of the West, and the Ocean of Eternity on the East; Containing a Population of Eight Hundred Million of souls. To which is appended a brief account of the Territories, Seas, Lakes, Rivers, &c. of this country. Carefully arranged from the best authors, and the latest and most accurate surveys. By Timothy Temperance, A. M. [in] Temperance Recorder. Vol. III. No. 1. Albany, March, 1834. [bound with] Vol. III, No. 2, April 1834 to Vol. III, no. 12, February 1835. 8vo (25 x 19 cm), original blue-gray wrappers with manuscript title on front wrapper. 96 pp. Map size, 10 x 15 cm. Early manuscript ownership inscriptions on most issues reading “D. Folts[?] Jun.”

An allegorical temperance map presenting the dangers of alcohol vis-à-vis the virtues of abstinence, one of a number of such maps published in the first half of the nineteenth century.

This map shows the Continent of Ardent Spirits in the north and the Continent of Self-Denial in the south; lying in between are numerous seas and islands, either identified by name or marked with letters corresponding to the key below. The Continent of Self Denial includes such features as the Sea of Anguish, Bad Wine Lake, Stagger Town, Drunken Hollow, Hardscrabble, Breakneck, and so on. The Continent of Self Denial, on the other hand, embraces Enjoyment, Improvement, Fine Prospect, Plenty, etc. The continents and seas are flanked by the ‘Ocean of Nativity' on the left and the ‘Ocean of Eternity’ on the right. Stretching across a peninsula identified as the ‘Territory of Indulgence’ are the Demarcation Mountains, dividing the realms of temperance and intemperance. The key identifies inlets (Bitters Inlet, Oyster House Inlet, etc.), “Islands in the sea of temperance” (Peace Island, Longevity Island, etc.), “Islands in the sea of intemperance” (Arson Island, Murder Island, etc.), “Islands in the sea of animal appetite” (Strife Island, Stupidity Island, and so on). The 1.5 page "Description of the Country" meticulously and imaginatively details the Seas, Civil Divisions, Lakes, Rivers, Islands, Inlets, Currents in the Sea of Intemperance, Straits, Bays and Gulfs, Discovery and Early History, Religion, and so on. The religion of the inhabitants of Ardent Spirits is said to be none other than Bacchanalianism.

CONDITION: Map good, bearing one old horizontal fold, tears, losses and chips to wrappers.