187. Dirwald, Joseph – Mollo, Tranquillo: Amerique Septentrionale...

... d’apres Arrowsmith et de Humboldt... – Charte von Nord America nach Arrowsmith, v. Humboldt...
Vienna, 1819.
The first edition of this exceptionally rare, border-coloured, four-sheet copperplate wall map of North America is highly scarce, with only a few copies having survived over the past two centuries. Known examples are housed in the libraries of Dartmouth College and University of Illinois, in the Warren Heckrotte Map Collection at Stanford University, in the David Rumsey Collection, and in the Hauslab-Liechtenstein Map Collection at the Library of Congress. Later editions from 1823 and 1849 are similarly extremely scarce. The collaboration between the Austrian cartographer, Joseph Dirwald and the Swiss-Italian engraver and printer, Tranquillo Mollo, both based in Vienna, produced several finely engraved and now rare maps, of which this is one. A foldable version composed of sectional sheets mounted on canvas and stored in a case also existed, but the present example was produced as a wall map – far more fragile and consequently much rarer. French and German title cartouches on either side of the continent acknowledge Arrowsmith and Humboldt as sources, yet the authors significantly reworked and expanded their models, especially concerning the western territories of North America. The topographical details are much more accurate and visually striking than that of contemporary maps, particularly in regard to Texas, the Rocky Mountains, California, and Alaska. In many cases, Dirwald and Mollo’s information diverges notably from that of their cited sources; however, in the case of Alaska, they presumably relied on Russian cartographic data. The map records the fur-trading posts of western Canada and the missions founded in the southern territories. It also provides one of the most detailed contemporary representations of Native American tribal locations in the Trans-Mississippi West – before the forced relocation known as the “Trail of Tears”. Compared to other maps of the era, it remains one of the most comprehensive and significant documents illustrating the distribution of Native American tribes. A landmark of early 19th-century American cartography, this impressive and exceedingly rare map combines scientific accuracy with the artistic elegance typical of Dirwald and Mollo’s finest work.
Dimensions: 845 × 1150 mm. Professionally restored piece, with repair to the upper right corner; otherwise in good condition. The verso slightly stained.
 
Starting price: 1 600 000,-