Map of the United States of North America (1802)
Artist/Maker: Aaron Arrowsmith (1750-1823)
Created: 1802
Origin/Purchase: London
Materials: engraved on 4 sheets
Dimensions: 129.5 × 143.5 (51 × 56 1/2 in.)
Location: Entrance Hall
Owner: Library of Congress
Historical Notes: Jefferson purchased this map in 1803 for use in planning the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Considered the most accurate representation to date of the land west of the Mississippi, the map shows the United States, parts of Canada, and the Louisiana Territory.[1] In his order for the map, Jefferson wrote that he would prefer the English edition, "because I know the engraving is superiorly well done."[2]
- Text from Stein, Worlds, 393
Further Sources
- Arrowsmith, Aaron. A Map of the United States of North America. London: A. Arrowsmith, 1802. Image available online from the David Rumsey Map Collection.
References
- ^ Seymour I. Schwartz and Ralph E. Ehrenberg, The Mapping of America (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1980), 221.
- ^ Jefferson to James Cheetham, June 17, 1803, in PTJ, 40:549. Transcription available at Founders Online.