Book Description

In 1860, Augustus Mitchell Jr. printed one of the world's most accurate and artistic atlases. This reproduction of Mitchell's New General Atlas restores all 76 maps from the original plus its 26 pages of geological, statistical, and geographic information from 1860. Included are intriguing looks at the political boundaries of the United States at the outbreak of the Civil War, as well as maps of other countries and regions that look vastly different today. In the nineteenth century, American citizens would routinely purchase a new map or atlas every year or two, as these physical documents were the only way to learn geography. The beautiful floral-bordered maps in this atlas were designed by the finest cartographers of this pivotal era in human history. Engraved on steel plates, printed in black and white, and hand-colored by artists, they continue to inspire wonder and awe.