1849 Tallis Map of Canada or British America w/ Oregon

This is a rare and curious first state first edition of Tallis's 1849 map of British America or what is today Canada. Extends from Russian America ( Alaska ) east as far as Greenland and Iceland. Inexplicably, this map recognizes the British claim to Oregon as far south as the Columbia River. This dispute was supposedly resolved three years previously in 1846 by the 'Oregon Treaty' which officially set the U.S – British America border at the 49th parallel. Features numerous decorative vignettes typical of Rapkin / Tallis work including a seal, whale fishing, the exploring ships Fury and Recla, a polar bear, some Esquimaux (Eskimos) and a view of Boston. Later versions of this map would replace the Boston view and update the political geography of the Oregon region (called New Georgia here). This particular version never made it into the Tallis's important 1850 atlas, instead it was issued exclusively for the 1849 edition of Hinton's History and Topography of the United States. The illustrations are by H. Warren and engraved by R. Wallis; the map is drawn and engraved by J. Rapkin. Published by the John Tallis & Company, London & New York in 1850-1852.

Cartographer

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...

Source

Hinton’s History and Topography of the United States., (1849 edition).    

Condition

Fine or perfect condition. Blank on verso.

References

Rumsey 0466.067. Phillips 804-6. Hinton, John Howard, The History and Topography of The United States of North America From The Earliest Period To The Present Time, 1849.