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Colton’s Map of the World by G.W. Colton

£135.00 Approx $170.24, €157.53

Code: 53320



Date: 1871

Long title: Colton’s Map of the World on Mercator’s Projection.  Steel engraved  map with original hand colouring. Overall size: 69.6cms x 44.5cms; 670mm x 425mm. Centrefold as issued. Text on  verso describing the World and with a hand coloured Western Hemisphere as an added bonus.  Highly decorative border.  Shows the routes of numerous 18th and 19th century explorers, including Cook, Furneaux, Vancouver, the US/Vincennes voyage, La Perouse, Resolution, etc., with the years of the relevant journey  The hand colouring in Colton’s recognizable pink and greens depicts various state and territorial boundaries. Antarctic Continent mentioned bottom left.  Slight toning to margins and faint waterstaining in bottom right and left margin corners  - see large image- else good condition.

George Woolworth Colton (1827 - 1901) was the son of Joseph Hutchins Colton (July 5, 1800 - July 29, 1893) who was an important American map and atlas publisher operating between 1833 to 1897. JH Colton recognized a gap in the market and published guides for immigrants and updated maps with decorative borders after purchasing the copyright from cartographers such as David H. Burr. His two sons worked in the business with him on the vast output of railroad maps, guides and several atlases.  The non payment of the fee from Bolivia for a large quantity of maps of the country was financially disastrous for the company.  The maps are characterised by their decorative spiral borders and  vibrant contemporary hand colouring.