Map of the United States of North America (1802)

Artist/Maker: Aaron Arrowsmith (1750-1823)^[1]

Created: 1802

Origin/Purchase: London

Materials: engraved on 4 sheets

Dimensions: 129.5 x 143.5 (51 x 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.^[2] In his order for the map, Jefferson wrote that he would prefer the English edition, "because I know the engraving is superiorly well done."^[3]

Footnotes

1. ↑ This article is based on Stein, Worlds, 393.
2. ↑ Seymour I. Schwartz and Ralph E. Ehrenberg, Mapping of America (New York: Abrams, 1980), 221.
3. ↑ Jefferson to James Cheetham, Washington, June 17, 1803. Thomas Jefferson Papers, Library of Congress. Letterpress copy available online.

Further Sources

• Arrowsmith, Aaron. A Map of the United States of North America... London: A. Arrowsmith, 1802. Image available online from the David Rumsey Collection.