Images(4)

THE/ UNITED STATES/ of/ AMERICA/ laid down/ From the best Authorities,/ Agreeable to the Peace of/ 1783.

Date1783

Cartographer John Wallis (d. 1818)

After work by Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville (1697-1782)

Publisher John Wallis (d. 1818)

OriginEngland, London

MediumLine engraving on laid paper with hand color

DimensionsFramed: 28 7/8 × 32 1/8 × 7/8in. Overall: 19 × 22in. (48.3 × 55.9cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1975-128

DescriptionThe lower right cartouche reads: "THE/ UNITED STATES/ of/ AMERICA/ laid down/ From the best Authorities,/ Agreeable to the Peace of/ 1783./ Published, April 3.d 1783,/ by the Proprietor/ JOHN WALLIS,/ at his Map-Warehouse,/ Ludgate Street/ LONDON"
Label TextThe preliminary articles of peace drafted by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Henry Laurens were signed at Versailles on January 20, 1783. Cartographers immediately rushed to issue maps that defined the boundaries of the independent nation. One of the first was John Wallis's The United States of America laid down From the best Authorities, Agreeable to the Peace of 1783. As was often the case, this map was borrowed from earlier works, Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville's Amérique Septentrionale, 1746, in particular. Based on information gathered by French explorers, d'Anville's map was one of the best of North America available at the time and was copied by many English and Continental cartographers. One of the versions most readily available to Wallis was North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville improved with the English Surveys made Since the Peace, published in 1775 by Robert Sayer and John Bennett for Jefferys's American Atlas.

Since the geography shown on Wallis's map had been known for thirty-seven years, it is of little interest cartographically. The noteworthy element is the decorative cartouche, which symbolizes peace in America. The allegorical scene portrays George Washington alongside Liberty and Benjamin Franklin, supported by Justice and Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, writing the Treaty of Paris. This is the first English map that illustrated the American flag.

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