Mitchell’s National Map of the American Republic or United States of North America.

Mitchell’s detailed mid-19th century wall map of The American Republic.

This uncommon wall map presents a rapidly expanding United States ready to burst past the Mississippi River into what would soon become the ‘American’ West. Eastern states, densely populated, are connected by a robust transportation network of roads and canals. This concentration of settlement fades as one travels south and west. Portions of Texas, the Indian Territory, and what remains of the Northwest Territory are shown largely vacant, beckoning settlers into fertile and apparently unpopulated lands. Geographic features, Native American tribes, and locations of interest are labeled throughout.

The image is surrounded by a border of thirty-two intricate inset plans, each representing a different important urban area across the United States. Several cities, like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York, are to be expected, but others like Lowell, Trenton, and Burlington reflect contemporary importance that has diminished somewhat in subsequent decades. A large table in the lower right lists the population for each county using statistics from the 1840 census. Additional insets show the southern tip of Florida (the newest state within the image) and the recently settled boundary between Maine and British Canada.

The map was drawn by J.H. Young and engraved by H.H. Brightly. Published in Philadelphia by Samuel Augustus Mitchell in 1845. Mitchell was one of the most prominent American mapmakers of the 19th century and initially got involved with cartography as a school teacher who was frustrated with the quality of available maps. He collaborated with skilled engravers and produced high-quality maps and atlases that contained the most up-to-date information available. This attention to detail, combined with his tremendous publication output, made him and his successors one of the most influential cartographic firms of the era.