FIRST EDITION, with ‘Hydrographer to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales’ in the title. A very rare and important foundation map of Texas and the southwest. All of Aaron Arrowsmith’s maps are rare and highly desirable. This particular one appears to be even rarer still. Quite possibly the demand for this map was not as strong as those of English populated areas. The coverage of this map takes in all of the present day southwestern United States from the Upper and Lower Mississippi River to California south of the 42nd parallel. The present example depicts the boundary of the Texas Louisiana border along the Mermento River and follows the official Spanish position as reported by Humboldt. This is the first large scale map to depict the important discoveries of Pike and Humboldt in the southwest. It became highly influential to other cartographers of the era. The second state bears an altered border moved further west and north running along the Sabine and Red Rivers, as accepted by both the United States and Spain in the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819. With insets of the Valley of Mexico, Veracruz and Acapulco.

‘Perhaps the most respected mapmaker of the early nineteenth century, Aaron Arrowsmith produced maps which were the result of a careful synthesis of all of the information he could obtain. His map of Mexico which first appeared in 1810 was bitterly criticised by Humboldt as a blatant plagiarism of his own map. While there is no doubt that Arrowsmith did use Humboldt’s data to best advantage, his map was no mere copy. For his improved rendering of the Brazos River, if for no other reason, Arrowsmith’s depiction of the Texas area merits inclusion as a landmark in the cartography of the region’ (Crossroads of Empire – Amon Carter Museum exhibit, June 1981). ‘In interior detail … the Arrowsmith maps are quite distinct, with [that of] Mexico being far superior. Most noticeably, Arrowsmith added the Brazos River, which he had omitted entirely on the 1803 map, and he correctly named the Trinity River, which he had previously called the ‘Rio Arrokisos’. Wheat Transmississippi West 295 & pp. 27-28.

‘Relying on information provided to him by the Hudson’s Bay Company, [Arrowsmith] added significant details in the Northwest, and his depiction of the California coast was probably taken from the British explorer Vancouver’s own charts. In the Texas area he undoubtedly used Pike’s rendition of the rivers, particularly of the Brazos and the Guadalupe, while he followed Humboldt in tracing the coast from the Spanish Hydrographic Office chart … By combining the best parts of Humboldt’s and Pike’s maps and avoiding their errors, and by adding his own new information, Arrowsmith contributed a significantly improved depiction of the region.’ Martin & Martin 25. Crossroads of Empire – Amon Carter Museum exhibit, June 1981; Martin & Martin 25; Phillips America p.408; Streeter, Bibliography of Texas, 1046, Taliaferro 202; Wheat Transmississippi West 295 & pp. 27-28.