Etats-Unis de L’Amerique Septentrionale Avec Les Isles Royale, De Terre Nueve, de St. Jean, L’Acadie, &c.

The newly formed United States and one of the first printed maps to delineate Michigan.

This intricately detailed map of the newly established United States was published in Paris by Charles Delamarche in 1785 – just three years after the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Revolutionary War and recognizing American independence. It provides a fascinating overview of the nascent nation, situated between the Mississippi River and Atlantic Ocean, with Spanish Florida to the south.

Native American tribes, a variety of settlements, geographic features, and other locations of interest are labeled throughout the image, which extends west to the Rio del Norte and Sante Fe. Attractive hand color distinguishes the claims of the original thirteen colonies, as well as other ambiguous territories (note the early iteration of Indiana and a largely unorganized Northwest Territory).

The original 13 and respective capitals are listed in the text block in the lower right, which also outlines the ten new states proposed in the Jeffersonian Ordinance of 1784: Silvania, Michigania, Chersonesus, Arsenistpia, Metropotamia, Illinoia, Saratoga, Washington, Polypotamia, and Pelisypia – one of the printed earliest maps to do so. The decorative title cartouche, upper left, reflects America’s rising maritime economy.

Sources: Medium; Seller & Van Ee #187;