1806 Johnson Geographic Game Wall Map of the Early American Republic

First American Geographic Game.

This is a scarce and very early 1806 Jacob Johnson geography game wall map depicting the early American Republic. It represents the first domestically-produced cartographic game in the United States of America.

A Closer Look

The map reflects the rapid territorial expansion of the United States into new western regions in the first years of the 19th century. Although produced after the Louisiana Purchase, the map was made before the discoveries of Lewis and Clark were widely disseminated and probably even before the explorers had returned to St. Louis on September 23, 1806. Only a truncated Louisiana appears, ending at the Mississippi River and New Orleans, 'the emporium of the West.' Other territories are recognizable but still in a state of development, an elongated Alabama and Ohio, and a bit of Georgia dipping into Florida. This map was prepared soon after the creation of the Michigan Territory (1805) but at a time when the Indiana Territory contained present-day Indiana and Illinois. What is today the northern two-thirds of Indiana remained Indian territory according to the treaties of Greenville (1795), Vincennes (1804), and Grouseland (1805), explaining the area being outlined in red here and containing none of the numbered geographical markers of the game.

This map was used for a turn-based geographical game where players proceed in a long, circular route along the numbered white circles beginning in Red Bank, N.J., and ending in Philadelphia, proceeding through all parts of the new country in the process. Most of the white circles represent cities and towns, and some scenic spots (such as Niagara Falls), sometimes with supplemental information such as their latitude and longitude (measured from Philadelphia), or their historical significance in the recent American Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783). Red circles represent the country's states and territories (ordered according to their population), while blue circles are used to mark lakes, rivers, bays, and other waterways. The map was accompanied by a 43-page booklet titled Geographical statistical and political amusement; by which may be obtained a general and particular knowledge of the United States (digitized by Hathitrust and available to read online). The booklet explains the rules of the game, in which a numbered top or 'totum' is spun and players' pieces ('cones') advance around the board, with the path of each player decided by where they first land according to their first spin of the top. The first set of turns (series) deals with the white circles' cities and towns, the second with the red states and territories, and the third with waterways. The second series also includes a complicated feature in which the winner of the first part of the series (the red circles) is designated President and the second-place player Vice-President (the rest remaining as Citizens). The booklet also contains additional information on the states, territories, and waterways, such as the origin of state and territory names and the exports per annum through major ports. Thus, through the game, players should gain an understanding of the entire country's geography, demography, economy, and electoral system.

According to the 2023 book Playing with Maps: Cartographic Games in Western Culture, although English cartographic games were sold in the American colonies, the present work was the earliest domestically-produced cartographic game in the American Republic. Clearly a labor of love, game was of obvious importance for reinforcing an emerging sense of American national identity.

Publication History and Census

This game map was prepared and published by Jacob Johnson in Philadelphia in 1806. It is very rare; most institutional holdings listed in the OCLC refer to microform copies, and we have only been able to locate physical examples at the Beinecke Library (Yale) and the Boston Athenaeum. The OCLC catalog listing with the Yale and Boston Athenaeum examples suggests that an example is also held by the Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum, but we have been unable to locate it in their catalog. The Library of Congress holds the accompanying booklet (the example digitized by Hathitrust), but not the map. An alternate printing appears to exist, which dedicates the map 'To Thomas Jefferson, president of the United States' instead of America's youth.

Cartographer

Jacob Johnson (fl. c. 1790 - 1819) was a printer and publisher active in Philadelphia in the early years of the American Republic. Johnson was born to a prominent Quaker merchant family in Philadelphia and had gone into the book trade as early as 1790, opening a stall on High Street in his hometown. By 1792, he and his brother Benjamin Johnson (a dry-goods trader) had opened their own printshop, though their publications only really became regular in 1795. Afterwards, the pair quickly began to publish books on a range of topics, from the American Revolution, ancient history, agriculture (The American farmer's guide: or A new and excellent treatise on agriculture), and religious and moral topics, to pedagogy (including geography). Many of their works are published as 'B. and J. Johnson' or sometimes 'B., J., and R., Johnson' referring to Robert Johnson, probably a third brother. But, confusingly, Jacob and Benjamin also published in their own names only, and maintained separate office locations, albeit within a few blocks of each other. A notable portion of Johnson's published works were in German, perhaps an attempt to cater to Pennsylvania's German-speaking population. His cartographic output includes the game wall map titled 'The United States Geographical Amusement,' the earliest domestically-produced geographical game sold in the United States, as well as Benjamin Davies' A new system of modern geography (1805) and an 1811 'Map of the world with the most recent discoveries.' He might have also published a c. 1794 'Plan of the City of Philadelphia' (OCLC 46415822) that appeared in James Hardie's A short account of the city of Philadelphia. Johnson even opened branch locations of the business in Richmond, Virginia and Lexington, Kentucky to collect subscriptions for works-in-progress, traveling frequently to Richmond but residing primarily in Philadelphia. Starting in 1806, Johnson entered into a partnership with Benjamin Warner and thereafter generally published as 'Johnson and Warner,' though works with his inscription decreased considerably in the following years. His difficult work and travel schedule likely took a toll on his health and he died on a trip to Lexington in 1819 aged roughly fifty years. Afterwards, Johnson's printshop in Philadelphia was continued by family members and continued its stationery business until 1919. Warner continued the publishing arm of the business, issuing a well-regarded edition of The Federalist Papers and perhaps the earliest separately-issued folding map of the U.S. from the Atlantic to Pacific coasts (previously sold by us, UnitedStates-warner-1820) among other works, and continued publishing until about 1830. Warner trained John Grigg and placed him as manager of the Richmond location; Grigg later went on to found his own firm, which became one of the founding components of renowned published J. B. Lippincott and Co. In effect, then, the origins of Lippincott can be traced back to Jacob and Benjamin Johnson's firms in Philadelphia. The fullest biography of Johnson can be found in the 'Biographical Directory of the Virginia Printing Trade to 1820' section of the Index of Virginia Printing, now available online at the Library of Virginia's website.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Full professional restoration. Size includes rollers.

References

Beinecke Library 75ea 1806; Boston Athenaeum Rare Flat Map (LC) G3701.A1 1806.J63 1806. OCLC 39669159. Shaw, R. and Shoemaker, R, American bibliography, a preliminary checklist for 1801-1819 Vol. 1, (New York: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.) 1958, #10638. Seville, A., Depaulis, T., and Bekkering, G., Playing with Maps: Cartographic Games in Western Culture (Leiden: Brill) 2023, pp. 65 - 66.