Tanner, Henry S. "West Indies"

Henry S. Tanner.  “West Indies.”  From Tanner’s New Universal Atlas. 

Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, [1834]-1844.  11 x 14.  Engraving by J. Knight.  Original hand coloring.  Full margins.  Small stain in map near top.  Else, very good condition.  

An excellent map of the West Indies by the great American cartographer, Henry Schenck Tanner.  In 1816, Henry, his brother Benjamin, John Vallance and Francis Kearny formed an engraving firm in Philadelphia.  Having had experience at map engraving through his work with John Melish, Tanner conceived of the idea of compiling and publishing an American Atlas, which was begun in 1819 by Tanner, Vallance, Kearny & Co..  Soon Tanner took over the project on his own, and thus began his career as cartographic publisher.  The American Atlas was a huge success, and this inspired Tanner to produce his Universal Atlas, of more manageable size.  This atlas contained excellent maps of all parts of the world.  The atlas was reissued by Carey & Hart in 1844 and the maps were later purchased by S. Augustus Mitchell, and then Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co., but it is the early Tanner and Carey & Hart editions which are the rarest and most desirable.  All details are clearly presented, and these include towns, rivers, mountains, and political boundaries.  In this map, Tanner includes a table explaining the possessions of the European powers, each indicated in a different shading.