First Large Map of the USA by Melish, 1816: Great Lakes, Mississippi, Missouri, Rockies, West Indies inset piedmont Vättern in Sweden

Vättern in Sweden

the birds appear to wheel and drift

encompassing a coastline that has inspired seafarers

this map is a journey through the heart of Alexander's empire

First Large Map of the USA by Melish, 1816: Great Lakes, Mississippi, Missouri, Rockies, West Indies inset piedmont Vättern in SwedenMap of the United States with the contiguous British & Spanish Possessions announces an audacious vision in its very title. Compiled by the Scottish born Philadelphia publisher John Melish and engraved with crystalline finesse by J. Vallance and H. S. Tanner in 1816, it is the first truly large scale, detailed portrait of an expanding republic. A proud American eagle crowns the cartouche, signaling national confidence in the wake of the War of 1812,