Carey, Mathew “A Map of the World from the Latest Authorities”

Mathew Carey.  “A Map of the World from the Latest Authorities.”  From Carey’s American Edition of Guthrie’s New System of Geography.   

Philadelphia: M. Carey, 1795.  11 ¾ x 20 ½ (paper).  Engraving by Thackara & Vallance.  Hand color.  With folds as originally issued.  Several repaired tears into map and map rejoined along two vertical folds all using archival tape.  Scattered light staining.  Margins trimmed.  Else, fine condition.  

An excellent map from the American edition Guthrie’s New System of Geography.  This was issued in 1795 by Mathew Carey, a seminal figure in American cartographic publishing.  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. 

The map displays the world on a double hemisphere.  As a terrestrial map the focus is more on the size of continents, though rivers and major political divisions are indicated throughout.  The outlines of the continents are quite accurate, including those of Australia and New Zealand.  The latter is true because Carey includes information from James Cook’s explorations from 1768 through 1780, showing his landfalls and the course of his ship in the southern oceans and the Pacific.  This map is an excellent example from the nascent days of American cartography.