David McClelland (1820 - 1899) was a Washington D.C. based copper plate engraver and publisher active from at least 1840 to about 1876. His work mainly consists of maps and other engraved documents for government publications, including maps for the Army Bureau of Topographical Engineers, Senate Reports, and General Land Office. In 1840, when he was just 19, McClelland was partnered with William Smith under the imprint of 'Smith and McClelland' with offices on Pennsylvania Avenue between 2nd and 3rd. The ordering of names in the imprint suggests that Smith was the senior partner, possibly the person who trained McClelland in engraving. While there is little evidence of Smith, there was an engraver of this name in Washington D.C. doing government engraving in the 1850s, and another living in Philadelphia. It is unclear if they are the same or different individuals. The partnership eventually dissolved, at which point Smith moved to Pennsylvania Avenue near 11h Street and McClellend to the Old Medical Collage at 10th and East Streets. McClelland is best known for his engraving of the important 1861 Albert Boschke map of Washington D.C. and the 1846 Topographical Engineers map of Florida. In 1863, during the American Civil War, McClelland had an altercation with the Federal Government War Department over the plates for the Boschke Map, which he owed in partnership with several others. The plates were ultimately seized without compensation for war use. After the war, McClelland appealed to Congress for restitution, which was finally granted in the 1890s. In the 1860s, McClelland published under the imprint of 'D. McClelland, Blanchard and Mohun' and 'D. McClelland, Blanchard and Mohun, Hugh b. Sweeny and Thomas Blagdon.' McClelland lived in Le Droit Park and is possibly responsible for that neighborhood being named as such.



Out of Stock Maps