Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Map of Delaware

Detailed hand colored map of Delaware published in 1822.

This map, skillfully designed by Fielding Lucas, Jr. and engraved by Young & Delleker, shows the political and geographic composition of Delaware near the end of the first quarter of the 19th century. Three counties are subdivided into hundreds, which are connected by a series of turnpike roads. Geographic features such as swamps, hills, and navigational hazards are depicted pictorially; and a flag at Lewistown represents the unsuccessful bombardment by a British squadron during the War of 1812.

Surrounding the map are numerous paragraphs of text and tables detailing the history, climate, political organization, and infrastructure of the state. The sheet was issued as plate number 19 in the 1822 edition of Carey & Lea’s Complete Historical, Chronological, and Geographical American Atlas.

This important American publication was issued in six separate editions and three different languages between 1822 and 1827. It was heavily influenced by an earlier European atlas by Emmanuel Las Cases (published under the pseudonym A. Lesage.), which inspired the format of a base map surrounded by blocks of informative text and tables of statistics.

Henry Carey, a political economist and the son of prominent publisher Matthew Carey, and his brother-in-law Isaac Lea incorporated this novel theme into their atlas, which focused entirely on the countries of the Western Hemisphere. It was issued at a time of tremendous political change in both North and South America, and the detailed maps accompanied by extensive text provide a unique, often insightful, perspective on the problems and possibilities of the Americas in the first quarter of the 19th century.

Wheat, C. I. (2004). Mapping the Transmississippi West: 1540-1861. Mansfield Centre (CT): Martino Publishing. #348

Egli, L. G., & Phillips, P. L. (1974). A list of geographical atlases in the Library of Congress. Washington: Library of Congress. #1373