Carey, Mathew "Rhode Island"

Mathew Carey. "Rhode Island". From American Pocket Atlas.

Philadelphia: M. Carey, 1796. 7 1/2 x 5 3/4. Engraving by W. Barker. Cf. Wheat & Brun: 253.

A map from Carey's American Pocket Atlas of 1796. This is a significant, early atlas issued by Mathew Carey, the first American to specialize in cartographic publishing. Carey, an Irish immigrant, set up an elaborate cottage system of craftsmen for engraving, printing, and coloring his maps, utilizing the best independent artists directed to a common end. Carey is important, then, not only for the excellent maps he produced, but for his setting the pattern for American map publishing, to be followed by the likes of John Melish and Henry S. Tanner.

The Pocket Atlas contained 19 small folding maps of the different states and territories in the United States. Carey's maps contain the most accurate and detailed information on the country and he updated his maps for each edition of his atlas. For instance, in the 1801 and 1805 editions he added roads to many of his maps.