Gamble, W.H. “Virginia and West Virginia”

W.H. Gamble.  “Virginia and West Virginia.”  Philadelphia: S. Augustus Mitchell, Jr. 1872.10 3/4 x 13 3/8. Lithograph. Original hand coloring. Full margins. Decorative grape vine border. Very good condition. 

For most of the middle part of the nineteenth century, the firm founded by S. Augustus Mitchell dominated American cartography in output and influence.  This fine map is from one of his son’s atlases, and it shows the two states in the 1860s. Towns, rivers, roads and other topographical information are clearly shown, and the counties are shaded with contrasting pastel colors.  A fine decorative border surrounds the map, and the whole effect makes for an attractive mid-nineteenth century map.