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Map of the State of Maine with the Province of New Brunswick.
[Portland: Moses Greenleaf III], 1843. J. H. Young & F. Dankworth, Engravers, Philadelphia. Hand-colored, engraved four-sheet wall map mounted on original linen, affixed to original black wooden rods. 50.25” x 40.75” plus margins. CONDITION: Very good, silk selvage largely perished, light rubbing, a few minor stains; an attractive un-restored example with a pleasing golden tone. The exceptionally rare third state of Moses Greenleaf's second map of Maine (the stated “Second Edition”), the first of his maps to show the recently resolved, final boundary with Canada. The map shows the entire state of Maine as well as New Brunswick and a portion of Quebec, and includes an inset map at lower right depicting Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, most of New Brunswick, part of Cape Breton Island, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The coastal portion of the state, with its myriad islands and peninsulas, is very carefully delineated, as is the interior of the state, with its multitude of lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. Thirteen counties are identified and the boundaries of all the organized towns as well the many unorganized townships in the northern part of the state are shown. The maps of Moses Greenleaf, published between 1815 and 1846, coincide neatly with the period covering Maine’s achievement of statehood (1820) to the final resolution of its present day boundaries, and are thoroughly bound up with the formative stages of the state’s identity. Greenleaf was an ardent supporter of Maine’s drive for statehood, its claims in the Northeastern Boundary Controversy, and the settlement of its interior regions. The two wall maps he produced served as instruments for achieving these ends, providing far more accurate representations of Maine than were previously available. Following the success of his Map of the District of Maine, published in 1815 and re-issued in 1820 (the first of Maine as a state) and again in 1822, Greenleaf compiled an improved and expanded map of the state, including the aforementioned portions of Quebec and all of New Brunswick. It was accompanied by his Survey of the State of Maine and an atlas of the state. All three were published by Shirley & Hyde of Portland in 1829, although the map was engraved by Young and Dankworth of Philadelphia. The map was issued again in 1832 and then posthumously by Greenleaf’s son Moses Greenleaf III in the present stated second edition of 1843, with over 110 additions, deletions, and changes to the plate, including the addition of three new counties, Franklin, Piscataquis, and Aroostook, which were “incorporated in 1838, 1838, and 1839, respectively.” The most important change, however, is the addition of the new boundary with Canada, as defined by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842. A significant error appears along the new boundary in the upper-left quadrant, where a note reads “Boundary as fixed by the Treaty of 1843.” Apparently the engraver confused the date of publication with the date of the Treaty. Thompson suggests that it was probably due to this error that a “third edition” (state IV), with the date corrected, was published so soon thereafter (January of 1844). Also of particular interest is “the boundary shown for Aroostook County, which is intermediate between the original boundary of 1839 and the final boundary of 1844…Originally, Aroostook County was formed from the northern part of Washington County and the northeastern part of Penobscot County. In 1843, Aroostook County was enlarged with the addition of the remaining northern part of Penobscot County [as shown here]…Finally, in 1844 Aroostook County was further enlarged with the addition of the northern parts of both Piscataquis and Somerset Counties” (Thompson). State III is rare and it seems likely that copies were suppressed once the incorrect treaty date was discovered. Thompson locates only two examples, at Maine Historical Society and the Osher Map Library. None are recorded in OCLC. A seldom-seen example of the first of Greenleaf’s maps to show the state in its final form. REFERENCES: Smith, Edgar Crosby. Moses Greenleaf : Maine’s First Map-Maker, p. 79; MacDougall, Walter M. Settling the Maine Wilderness, p. 127; Thompson, Edward. Important Maine Maps, Books, Prints and Ephemera, pp. 182–185; Thompson, Edward. Printed Maps of the District and State of Maine, 1793-1860, #34.
Item #6889
Price: $4,500.00
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