Carey, Mathew. “Pennsylvania.”

Mathew Carey.   “Pennsylvania.” 

Philadelphia: M. Carey & Son, 1814.  11 1/2 x 18 1/4.  Engraving.  Original outline color.  Full margins.  Very good condition.

An important map of Pennsylvania by Mathew Carey, one of the seminal figures in early American cartography.  Published during the War of 1812, this map is from Carey’s Atlas which represented the best American cartographic work of the period.  Carey, an Irish immigrant, established the first American specialized cartographic publishing firm.  He 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.

This map of Pennsylvania, Carey’s home state, is a fine example of his work.  Topographical information is neatly portrayed, including towns, rivers, mountains, and roads.  The counties are named and indicated by light pastel coloring.  Longitude is given both with a prime meridian at London and at Philadelphia.  Overall, an important map of Pennsylvania by an important figure in American cartography.