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John Disturnell. Mapa de los Estados Unidos de Mejico. ...
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Description
Disturnell's Influential Map of Mexico in the Original Boards
John Disturnell. Mapa de los Estados Unidos de
Mejico. Segun lo organizado y definido por las
varias actas del Congreso de dicha Republica: y construido por las
mejores autoridades. Lo publican J. Disturnell, 102
Broadway, Nueva York. 1847 Revised Edition. Nueva York: J.
Disturnell, 1847.Disturnell's ninth edition. Hand-colored folding engraved map, 41" x 30.5", with four inset maps and plans, two tables, and two profiles. Folding into original 12mo blindstamped brown cloth covers, gilt-stamped on cover. Housed in a modern full green morocco clamshell case.
This influential map originated in 1822 when Philadelphia publisher Henry S. Tanner issued his Map of North America. Using the southwestern portion of that map, Tanner in 1825 published his Map of the United States of Mexico, which was printed from entirely new copper plates depicting only Mexico as it existed at the time. In 1826 he reissued the map with the Mexican border moved significantly to the north. In 1828, the New York firm of White, Gallaher and White published a map entitled Mapa de los Estados Unidos de Mexico that showed the Mexican border in the same position as it appeared on Tanner's 1826 version. There is considerable disagreement on the relationship between Tanner's 1826 map and the subsequent White, Gallaher, and White map. Some authorities state that the latter plagiarized; others say merely that they copied. It would be disingenuous to say that White, Gallaher, and White were completely unaware of Tanner's map, but the former did go to the trouble and expense of providing a new map printed from new copper plates that showed a far wider area than Tanner's map did, although it did contain some of the same information, as the insets make quite obvious. White, Gallaher, and White's actual printing plates were subsequently acquired by New York publisher John Disturnell, who modified them by substituting his own name in the imprint area and in other ways.
The first issue of Disturnell's map appeared in 1846 and numerous issues were put out by him until 1848, all printed from the same copper plates that underwent various modifications for each new issue. According to Martin, the copy here is known as the "ninth edition," although it is more properly called the "ninth issue" since it was printed from basically the same copper plates used in the first printing.
This issue varies only in minor details from Martin's "seventh edition," which is legendary in the history of Mexican-American relations. It was used to negotiate the peace treaty of February 2, 1848 also known as the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Although widely known to be inaccurate, copies of it were, nevertheless, used by the negotiators at the end of the Mexican American War to set the boundary between the two countries. Because of major errors on the map involving the location of El Paso (present-day Ciudad Juarez) and the Rio Grande River, a serious dispute arose about the parallel along which to run the actual boundary. After many surveyors and years, a line was finally run; it was, however, unsatisfactory to the United States because it ran too far north and left the prime area for the southern route of a transcontinental railroad in Mexico proper. Because of that location, the United States was obligated to buy the land from Mexico with the Gadsden Purchase. Some idea of the confusion that resulted may be intuited from the fact that although copies of the map were attached to both the Mexican and the United States' copies of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, not even those two maps were identical-the one attached to the United States copy was the seventh, and the one attached to the Mexican copy was the twelfth-although they varied in no significant details.
Condition: Map is now detached from the folder, small section crossing line border at left missing from where it was removed from the pocket folder and has been replaced with Japanese tissue, several splits along the folds reinforced on verso, some separations to folds at upper margin, slight offsetting, map is toned throughout.
References: Eberstadt, Texas 162:256; Martin, "Disturnell's Map," pp. 352; Streeter Sale 256.
Auction Info
2023 December 2 The Ted Lusher Texas History Collection, Part One Signature® Auction #6281 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2023
2nd
Saturday
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