* LUCAS, Fielding (1781-1854). A New and Elegant General Atlas Containing Maps of Each of the United States. Baltimore and Philadelphia: Fielding Lucas, Jr. and Philip H. Nicklin, [1816].

4to (352 x 305 mm). Engraved title after G. Fairman, 54 engraved maps after H.S. Tanner, S. Lewis, and Sam Harrison (Mercator's Chart of the World double-page). (Dampstain to a few leaves, map of the Upper Territories with 2 1/2-in. marginal tear.) Contemporary half calf, marbled boards (rebacked to style, hinge reinforced, overall wear).

FIRST EDITION, which includes Maine as a district, Mississippi as a territory, and with no mention of Alabama. Precedes the Library of Congress copy, published 1817, which bears an engraved title-page mentioning only Fielding Lucas, Jr., and omitting Nicklin (whose name is included on the title-page in this copy), but has the same letterpress contents leaf as this copy. That copy also includes a double-page map of Virginia dated 1816 (printed on a single sheet and undated in this copy), and a double-page map of Louisiana dated 1817 (printed on a single sheet and undated in this copy). ANY EDITION OF THIS SCARCE EARLY AMERICAN ATLAS IS RARE AT AUCTION: online auction records trace only one copy of any edition of Lucas's atlas with the complete complement of 54 maps sold at auction in the last 40 years. See Philips 3542; Rumsey 4535.


Estimate $8,000-12,000

Provenance: Cary H. Hansford (signature from Norfolk, Virginia dated 1825); Rev. Henry W. Ducachet (bookplate presenting the atlas to the Berkeley Divinity School).

For information please contact elizabethkeithley@lesliehindman.com