1851 Tallis Map of Canada or British America

Continental Reach of the Hudson's Bay Company.

A scarce state of John Tallis and John Rapkin's c. 1851 map of British America or Canada. Among other features, it depicts the vast territory overseen by the Hudson's Bay Company.

A Closer Look

Covering nearly all of today's Canada, as well as Alaska (Russian America), this map notes rivers, lakes, forts, settlements, trading posts or houses, mountain ranges, administrative borders, and coastal features such as bays, capes, and islands. Aside from East and West Canada, as well as other established colonies in the east like Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, most of the territory seen here was under the technical purview of the Hudson's Bay Company, though aside from a series of forts and trading posts, its presence was limited. Extremely wealthy and intent on guarding against potential competitors, the Hudson Bay Company absorbed its rival, the North-West Company, in 1821. It vied with John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company along the western frontier, including the Pacific Coast. An American Fur Company post can be seen on Lake Superior in the vicinity of Duluth, Minnesota, while several forts and trading houses of the Hudson's Bay Company can be seen in what became the U.S. state of Washington. This map would have been prepared soon after the U.S.-British dispute over the Oregon Territory had mainly been settled in an 1846 treaty. However, disagreements and tensions remained until an international boundary dispute tribunal resolved the issue in 1872.

Around the map are numerous decorative vignettes typical of Rapkin and Tallis' work, including a seal, whale fishing, the exploring ships Fury and Hecla, a polar bear, some Esquimaux (Eskimos), and a view of 'Hudson City,' the most inexplicable feature of the map. The earliest edition (1849) of the map, previously sold by us, included the same view but captioned it 'Boston City,' also mysterious as the view does not resemble the city of Boston in Massachusetts (particularly the mountains in the background), nor the small town of Boston in Ontario. Later editions of this map would replace the Boston/Hudson City view with one of Montreal. The enigma of this unusual view remains unsolved; Tallis and his collaborators may have simply misunderstood North American geography, or perhaps Boston and Hudson were ephemeral names for a portion of Montreal, though we have been unable to locate any historical evidence of this. Hudson City may be the city of Hudson, N.Y., on the river of the same name, which was an important transit point between Canada and Boston as well as New York.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn and engraved by John Rapkin, with illustrations drawn by H. Warren and engraved by R. Wallis, and was published by John Tallis. This rare state comes from John Howard Hinton's The History and Topography of the United States, published in Britain by Tallis at some point between 1850 and 1852, more likely towards the earlier part of that range. Hinton's book was popular and went through multiple printings in the U.S. and Britain, with different plates added depending on the publisher; Tallis naturally used his own maps.

Cartographers

John Tallis (November 7, 1817 - June 3, 1876) was an English map publisher and bookseller. Born in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, he worked in his father's Birmingham agency from 1836 to 1842. Around 1838, Tallis published a collection of London Street Views and entered into a partnership with his brother Frederick Tallis from 1842 to 1849. Tallis and Company also published the Illustrated Atlas of the World (1849). Also in 1849, Tallis traveled to New York City, where he established agencies in 6 American cities. After returning from New York, Tallis paid his brother £10,000 for his share of the business and subsequently operated as John Tallis and Company until 1854. By 1853, John Tallis and Company had agencies in 26 cities in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada and employed over 500 people. On February 24, 1854, Tallis brought on a new partner, Ephraim Tipton Brain (1791 - 1876), forming the London Printing and Publishing Company. After a series of setbacks, however, Tallis had to sell his estate and by 1861 was declared bankrupt. Friends and former employees kept him afloat, but none of his 'various ambitious projects' proved lucrative. Tallis married Jane Ball on December 6, 1836, in Birmingham, and they lived together until she died in 1862. Tallis remarried on June 27, 1863, to Mary Stephens, with whom he had two children.   Further Details...

John Rapkin (July 18, 1813 - June 20, 1899) was an English mapmaker and engraver. Born in Southwark, Rapkin was the son of George Rapkin, a shoemaker, and his wife Elizabeth Harfy. Rapkin and his brother Richard both became engravers and his other brother, William Harfy Rapkin, became a copperplate printer. Rapkin produced works for James Wyld and John Tallis, including The United States and the relative position of Oregon and Texas for Wyld around 1845, and a series of eighty maps for Tallis that became 'Tallis's illustrated atlas, and modern history of the world' in 1851. Rapkin married Frances Wilmot Rudell on January 4, 1837, with whom he had at least eight children, some of whom became engravers, including his sons John Benjamin Rapkin (1837 - 1914), Alfred Thomas Rapkin (1841 - 1905), Joseph Clarke Rapkin (1846? - 1912), and Frederick William Rapkin (1859 - 1945). Rapkin operated under the imprint 'John Rapkin and Sons from 1867 until 1883, and was operating as 'John Rapkin and Sons' by 1887. Rapkin died in 1899 at the age of 85 soon after the death of his wife of over sixty years.   Further Details...

Source

Hinton, J. Howard, The History and Topography of the United States, (Talis) c. 1851.    

Condition

Very good. Wear and some toning along centerfold.

References

Rumsey 0466.067. Phillips 804-6.