WESTWARD THE COURSE OF EMPIRE

Among the many iconic maps featured in this catalogue, which accompanied an exhibition at the Grolier Club, is Lewis and Clark's map of the Northwest. Published in 1814, it remained the standard against which all mapping of that part of North America was measured for decades. The book covers 19th-century expansion from the Louisiana Purchase to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, documents the journeys of military expeditions, fur trappers, gold miners, ranchers, and pioneers fleeing religious persecution and examines interactions with Native Americans and the intense physical hardships of moving West. In the 19th century, the exploration and settlement of the West exploded. During the 58 years between the Louisiana Purchase and the Civil War, the United States expanded from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, and, in the far West, from the 32nd Parallel to the 49th. By the late 1850s, almost all of these areas had been mapped and explored. Original maps, travel guides, government reports, and historical records, and featuring large colour plates and landmark historical maps, this magnificent book was an accompanying publication for a specialized exhibition held at the Grolier Club in New York City. The phrase "Westward the Course of Empire" is famously drawn from Bishop George Berkeley's 1726 poem and is most recognized as the title of Emanuel Leutze's massive 1861 mural in the U.S. Capitol Building celebrating Manifest Destiny. 156 pages, colour illus. 30.5 x 23.9cm.