This remarkably rare separate publication is one of the earliest to record and name the newly founded United States of America. The map is set in a central oval panel surrounded by allegorical female figures, nearby are the figures of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.

A winged Victory, laurel wreath in hand is above the central map and issues trumpet blasts into the background clouds. The female figure of Liberty on the left bears the symbolic Phrygian Cap which sits atop a long pole. The Cap was a symbol of freedom from slavery and dates back to classical times. It was to become a well-known image closely associated with the French Revolution. Liberty points to the newly formed States on the map with her left hand. She is depicted marching forward in company with the confident figure of General George Washington in military uniform bearing in his right hand the baton of a military commander. To the right is the seated figure of Benjamin Franklin. He sits against a backdrop of fir trees and a pineapple. There are also the female figures of Athena (Goddess of Wisdom, on whose helmet sits a small owl) and Justice (blindfolded and bearing a set of scales in her hands). Franklin bears a quill in hand, presumably writing the new laws and statutes into the book which sits on his knees.

This charming item appears to be the earliest newly engraved plate to delineate the newly formed United States of America. It gives its publication date as March 18th 1783, some six months before the United States received formal recognition under the terms of the Treaty of Paris in September 1783. This map appears in two separate states, this being an example of the first. The detail and design of this engraving was later incorporated into the title cartouche of Wallis’ larger map of the United States, engraved and published a month after this map in April 1783. The engraving and map were also used as a transfer print design that was applied to Liverpool Creamware pottery, in particular to jugs, in the later years of the 18th Century. In all an exceptionally important, rare and uncommon little map – we are aware of only one other example of this first state of the map having appeared for sale on the open market in the last 10 years. Baynton-Williams, www.mapforum.com – Issue 1 – A Checklist of Early Maps of the Unites States to 1800 #22.