Letters from Illinois [with] United States [and] Map of the English Prairie

First edition publication praising an early 19th century utopia in Illinois.

Morris Birkbeck was an English agricultural innovator and social reformer who got the idea of moving to Illinois while chatting with James Madison’s secretary, who had recently travelled there. In 1817, Birkbeck purchased over 25,000 acres of land in southern Illinois and moved there with his family; intent on forming a utopian society free from religious repression and excessive taxation.

This book, published in Philadelphia by M. Carey and Son in 1818, is one of two volumes written by Birkbeck to extol the virtues of his ideas. It’s organized as twenty-two separate letters which address concerns in England, the history of the enterprise, answers to queries, settlement plans and many other topics.

Accompanying the book are two maps. The first is a map of the United States, prepared by John Melish for Carey’s Juvenile Atlas and the Universal School Atlas. The map extends from the Atlantic coast to unexplored country in the Missouri territory and shows the author’s route across the U.S. to southern Illinois in red.

The second map, also by Melish, shows the construct of the “English Prairie,” advertised so heavily by Birkbeck. It shows the area around his property in southwest Illinois and Indiana along the Wabash River, including another utopian society founded at New Harmony.