1817 Gussfeld / Gaspari Map of the United States of America

Franz Ludwig Güssefeld (December 6, 1744 - June 17, 1807) was a German cartographer and map publisher active in Weimar in the second half of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Güssefeld was born in Osterburg and exhibited an early talent for geography. He initially worked as a building director in Königsberg, Prussia, where he surveyed the Noteć River. He then served as a forest ranger in Saxe-Weimar. There, he met geographer Anton Friedrich Büsching (1724 - 1793), whose geographical studies he compiled into a map of Brandenburg published by Homann Heirs (Homann Erben). The map was a great success due to its accuracy and spurred a revival of the venerable but floundering Homann Heirs publishing house. Güssefeld went on to produce more than 100 maps, most published by Homann Heirs. His son-in-law, Johann Valentin Blaufuß. (1769 - 1850) was also a prominent surveyor and cartographer. More by this mapmaker...

Adam Christian Gaspari (November 18, 1752 - May 27, 1830) was a German statistician, proto-social scientist, geographer, and historian active in the early 19th century. Gaspari was born in Schleusingen in Thuringia, but little else is known of his early life. He received a Master of Philosophy degree in 1790 and, in 1795, taught at the University of Jena. Gaspari published articles on several topics during this time, especially relating to pedagogy and geographical education. He moved frequently to continue his academic career, becoming a professor at the gymnasium in Oldenburg in 1797, a professor of history, geography, and statistics at the University of Dorpat in 1803, and a full professor of geography and statistics at the University of Königsberg in 1810. Gaspari continued to teach until the end of his life but also began to take on other ventures. In 1810, he helped to reorganize Prussia's educational curriculum along humanist lines as a member of the Wissenschaftliche Deputation. He co-edited the Allgemeine Geographische Ephemeriden, generally seen as the earliest German-language scientific geographical journal, published by the Geographisches Institut Weimar. With the Institut, Gaspari also published several atlases, including Allgemeiner Hand-Atlas der Ganzen Erde and Gaspari's Grosser Hand-Atlas. Learn More...

Geographisches Institut, Weimar (fl. 1804 - c. 1903) was a German map and globe publishing house and geographical research institute based in Weimar. The organization primarily focused on republishing and improving upon the works of earlier cartographers, including Kitchin, Jefferys, Carey, and others. In general, its publications are known for their fine engraving, attention to detail, historical accuracy, and overall high quality. The firm was founded in 1804 by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (???? - c. 1845) and, on his death, passed to his son Robert Froreip (???? - 1855), then to Louis Denicks of Luneberg, then in 1859 to Voigt & Günther, in 1883 to F. Arnd, from 1890 - 1893 to Julius Kettler, and in 1903 to Max Wedekind. During the institute's height in the early 19th century, most of its cartographic publication was overseen by Carl Ferdinand Weiland (1782 - 1847). The firm also employed the cartographers Franz Xaver von Zach, Adam Christian Gaspari, Heinrich Kiepert, Karl (or Carl) and Adolf Graef, Julius Kettler, Carl Riemer and Karl Christian Bruhns. Weimar was a logical place for a collective like the Geographisches Institut to arise; it was a cultural mecca in the German-speaking world in the late 18th and 19th centuries because of its liberal atmosphere and associations with figures like Schiller, Herder, and, above all, Goethe, who spent most of his adult life in the city. Learn More...