SCARCE FIRST EDITION OF FINLEY’S GREAT 1824 NEW GENERAL ATLAS, WITH 58 HAND-COLORED ENGRAVED MAPS FEATURING AMERICAN STATES

FINLEY, Anthony, publisher. A New General Atlas, Comprising a Complete Set of Maps representing the Grand Divisions of the Globe. Philadelphia: Anthony Finley, 1824. Folio (11 by 14 inches), publisher’s three-quarter red morocco rebacked, marbled boards, upper cover with original pink printed paper label, new endpapers.    $16,500.

First edition of Anthony Finley’s first publication, his popular General Atlas, about half of which features maps of America and American states. Complete with 58 hand-colored engraved maps and two hand-colored engraved tables.

During the first half century after the Revolution there was considerable American interest in the production of atlases. In the four-year period beginning in 1822, six large atlases were published in the United States, of which Finley’s was perhaps the most notable. This General Atlas is Finley’s first publication. “All of the atlas’ 60 plates were engraved by Young & Delleker… It contains 60 maps, about half of which are devoted to the American continent, and the remainder to other parts of the world, chiefly to Europe… The engraving is done almost uniformly with remarkable distinctness and the face of the maps is frequently beautiful, not overloaded with a confusion of useless names” (Ristow, 268-269). The maps include hemispheric and world maps as well as detailed maps of continents, individual countries of Europe and Asia, and individual American states. The interesting map of Mexico depicts the North American southwest from what would become Texas to California. Phillips Atlases 4314. Shoemaker 16146. Owner signature in pencil on title page.

Maps in excellent condition with only a few small marginal stains, hand-coloring bright and fine. A fine copy.