• Title : Mitchells New Travellers Guide through the United States Showing the Rail Roads, Canals, Stage Roads and c. with Distances from Place to Place. Drawn and engraved by Ira S Drake Philadelphia 1856. Published by Charles Desilver
• Size: 28 3/4in x 22in (730mm x 560mm)
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
• Date : 1856
• Ref #:  82034

Description:
This is a large uncommon, beautifully hand coloured and separately issued pre-Civil War original antique map of the United States issued by Charles Desilver in 1856 and is based on the earlier maps by the famous American cartographer, Samuel Augustus Mitchell. 
The map covers the United States from the Atlantic seaboard to the western states beyond the Mississippi, with insets maps offering additional detail of the New England states, Lake Superior Copper Mines Region and in the California Gold Mining regions. As to be expected of a map designed for the traveler & explorer, Desilver offers in-depth detail of contemporary railways, canals, and roads with inset maps showing routes to California, illustrating the huge interest in the gold mining of California. 
This map was drawn & engraved by Ira Drake and issued first by Desilver in 1856.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 28 3/4in x 22in (730mm x 560mm)
Plate size: - 28 3/4in x 22in (730mm x 560mm)
Margins: - Min 1/4in (8mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: 
Charles Desilver (fl. c. 1850 - 1862) is a little known American map published active in the middle part of the 19th century. Desilver began is cartographic career as a partner in the firm Thomas, Cowperthwait and Company, the publisher of S. A. Mitchell popular New Universal Atlas. In 1856 Desilver acquired Mitchell\'s copyrights and print plates and began to issue his own vaJacques Nicholas Bellinmitriant of the New Universal Atlas. Desilver altered Mitchell\'s maps only slightly; adding a new grillwork border, his own color scheme, new titles, and some updated political data. Despite a noble pedigree, Desilver\'s maps did not sell well - possibly because they followed the long and very popular run of Mitchell\'s own atlases. Desliver continued to publish his atlas until 1859 (though we have heard that he also published an 1862 edition). In 1859 he resold the Mitchell copyrights and printing plates to S. A. Mitchell\'s son S. A. Mitchell Jr. The younger Mitchell again updated the plates with own border and color scheme and began publishing his own successful atlas in 1860.