| 1851 Williams' Travellers Guide with Map-U.S. |
1851 Edition of Williams' Traveller's and Tourist's Guide
Through the United States of America, Canada, Etc.
Containing the Routes of Travel by Steamboat, Stage and Canal...
The complete title is: The Traveller's and Tourist's Guide Through the United States of America, Canada, Etc. Containing the Routes of Travel by Steamboat, Stage and Canal; Together with Descriptions of, and Routes to, the Principal Places of Fashionable and Healthful Resort; With Other Valuable Information. Accompanied by an Entirely New and Authentic Map of the United States, Including California, Oregon, Etc., and a Map of the Island of Cuba.
by Wellington Williams
Lippincott, Grambo & Co, Philadelphia, MDCCCLI (1851)
THE BOOK: The
publication date of 1851 is listed by several authorities as the first edition,
although the binding on this volume appears to be a different color than
the normal black. It has gilt-stamped pictorial maroon covers with blind
embossing of the short title on the back cover. The page paper is thin, as
befits a book that was published to be carried along on extensive travels.
Williams wrote other travel guides but they do not have the extensive map
present in this volume. It has very detailed travel information such as miles,
travel times, and fares between destinations. One example is from New York
to St Paul in the Minnesota Territory- Miles 1,623, Fare $33.00, Travel Time
132 hours.
There is a great deal of information about railroad routes and interconnections,
along with discussions of the schedules for completing railroads that are
under construction at the time of the publication. One section compares the
route from New York to California via a land crossing of the Isthmus of Panama
to the route around Cape Horn. The book also describes such places of interest
as Niagara Falls, Saratoga Springs, Mount Vernon, Mammoth Cave, and others.
At the end of the book are an index and 20 pages of the publisher's advertisements.
THE MAP: "A New Map of the United States upon which are delineated the
vast works of International comunication, Routes Across the Continent, &c.
showing Canada and the Island of Cuba. By W. Williams. Philadelphia. Published
by Lippincot, Grambo & Co., 1851." The map measures 29 1/2" wide by
24" high
and is glued to the inside back board of the book. It folds up to fit and is
printed with color over
black. As shown in the detail picture, there is an inset (approximately 9" x
10")
of the trans-Mississippi West which shows boundaries as of the Compromise of
1850.
Notice the difference in familiar boundaries for what are now the western states.
This is an historical map of the development of this country in the mid-nineteenth
century. The map also carries an inset of the Island of Cuba along with a detail
inset of Havana Harbor. There is an additional inset of the New York/Canada border
at Niagara Falls.
|
