{"product_id":"old-map-of-north-america-by-reid-1796-mississippi-r-great-lakes-gulf-of-mex-nw-coast-sf-bay","title":"Early Map of the United States by Reid, 1796: Mexico, Central America, Caribbean","description":"\u003cp\u003eJohn Reid’s A General Map of North America Drawn From The Best Surveys (1796) captures a formative moment in the young republic’s understanding of the continent. Issued in New York as part of Reid’s American Atlas—the second atlas published in the United States—it stands among the earliest atlas maps of North America produced on American soil. The engraved composition balances political delineation with topographic clarity, while a refined cartouche announces the title and imprint with period elegance. Spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico to the northern reaches of Canada, the map offers a sweeping, authoritative vista compiled from the best surveys accessible to an American publisher at century’s end.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorically compelling for what it shows—and what it only begins to guess—the map predates the expeditions of Lewis \u0026amp; Clark and Zebulon Pike, freezing the continent at a tantalizing threshold of discovery. The Mississippi River anchors the interior, while the Appalachian chain marches confidently along the eastern seaboard. To the west, the Rocky Mountains emerge as an intuited barrier, their course sketched from fragmentary reports rather than systematic reconnaissance. Near present-day Salt Lake City, an expansive unnamed lake signals the era’s evolving knowledge of the Great Basin. Plains and valleys are indicated with a naturalist’s restraint, guiding the eye from well-surveyed corridors into spaces where speculation shades into blankness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReid’s political geography records a continent in negotiation. The United States stretches from the Atlantic cities—Boston, New York, and Philadelphia—south through Charleston and Savannah, and inland toward Nashville and the Mississippi’s frontier nodes like St. Louis. The nascent federal capital, Washington D.C., appears as the new axis of governance along the Chesapeake Bay, while the Hudson River threads commerce to the north. Across the Great Lakes, Detroit holds strategic position by Lake Erie; Lake Ontario glints further east. British Canada frames Quebec, Montreal, and Nova Scotia; to the south and west, New Spain encompasses Mexico and New Orleans at the Gulf’s vital crossroads. Indian territories are delineated with sober clarity, acknowledging Indigenous homelands at the center of continental diplomacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCoastal mastery contrasts with interior uncertainty. Along the Northwest Coast, Reid synthesizes the latest Enlightenment-era reports, reflecting the intensive late-18th-century attention to that contested shore. The Pacific littoral is crisply traced down to the Spanish strongholds of California, where the bay of San Francisco signals an emerging maritime gateway. By comparison, offshore waters carry fewer soundings, suggesting the limits of hydrographic labor available to an American engraver of the 1790s. The Atlantic and Pacific are boldly labeled, bookending a continent whose surveyed edges—Gulf of Mexico arcs, Eastern Seaboard inlets, and the great bays—are defined with confidence that fades deliberately as one moves inland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor collectors and historians, this map is both artifact and argument: a consummately American statement that the nation could compile, engrave, and publish its own grand view of North America. As one of the first atlas maps of the continent issued in America, it marks the moment before the Louisiana Purchase and the epochal surveys that would recalibrate every boundary and mountain line. Reid’s composition preserves the diplomatic and geographic realities of the 1790s—colonial legacies, Indigenous territories, mercantile corridors—while foreshadowing the continental narrative to come. It is a rare, lucid vantage on North America poised between Enlightenment inquiry and the expeditions that would soon redraw its horizons.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlaces on this map\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNew York\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhiladelphia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoston\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCharleston\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNew Orleans\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMexico\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMontreal\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSt. Louis\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWashington D.C.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSalt Lake City (noted for the unnamed lake)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSan Francisco (notably indicated as part of the Pacific Coast)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuebec\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNova Scotia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLake Erie\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLake Ontario\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHudson River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChesapeake Bay\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDetroit\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSavannah\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNashville\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotable Features \u0026amp; Landmarks\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe cartouche with the title and publication details\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMajor rivers such as the Mississippi River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe approximate course of the Rocky Mountains\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDetailed geographic outlines of coastal areas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLakes and significant large water bodies, including a massive unnamed lake near what is now Salt Lake City\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNotable valleys and plains\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Appalachian Mountains illustrated\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndian territories outlined\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Gulf of Mexico shown clearly\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Atlantic and Pacific Oceans labeled\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical and design context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne of the first atlas maps of North America published in America\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart of Reid's American Atlas, the second atlas published in the United States\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePredates the explorations of Lewis \u0026amp; Clark and Zebulon Pike\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSignificant details along the Northwest Coast, but limited details offshore\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePolitical boundaries at the time, geographic features, and early explorations\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe transition from known territories to uncharted areas, reflecting the era’s geographic understandings\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCovers the entirety of North America, including detailed regions such as the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClean, engraved style typical of 18th-century cartography, highlighting geographic and political features\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProvides insight into the geographic understanding of North America during the late 18th century and marks an important moment in early American cartography\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 70in (180cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003ebest old maps\u003c\/a\u003e to see if something else catches your eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003econtact me\u003c\/a\u003e to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex\/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":57882454688128,"sku":"UM00273376A","price":366.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":57882454720896,"sku":"UM00273377A","price":985.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":57882454753664,"sku":"UM00273378A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":57882454786432,"sku":"UM00273379A","price":366.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":57882454819200,"sku":"UM00273380A","price":985.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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