Historic Map : Mannert Map of North America and South America , 1796, Vintage Wall Art

An extremely scarce 1796 map of north and south America by C. Mannert. Depicts the Americas shortly following the close of the American Revolutionary War in 1783. The whole is color coded according to political conventions, with British controlled territories in Red, Spanish dominions in yellow, French in green, and the fledgling United States in blue-green. Mountains and other topographical features are rendered by hachure, making Mannert's 1796 map one of the first to employ this mapping convention. Throughout, Mannert has dedicated significant attention to the naming of various American Indian nations including the Sioux, Otter, Sack, Creek (Crik), Miami, Paduca, Arkansas, and others. Cartographically Mannert references the work of Aaron Arrowsmith published in the same year, though it is far from a copy with numerous refinements and advancements in evidence. Mannert recognizes the United States east of the Mississippi, south of the Great Lakes, and north of Florida. None of the original states are identified, however the regions of Carolina, Georgia, and Kentuke are noted. This map's most interesting element is most likely it's treatment of the western parts of North America. Nonetheless, many confusions appearing on earlier (and indeed later) maps have here been semi-corrected. Both Lake Parima (south Guyana) and the Laguna de Xarayes (northern terminus of the Paraguay River) have been significantly reduced in size. These were flood plains, the Parima and Pantanal, that were mistakenly taken for lakes during their annual inundation and both of which were associated with legends of El Dorado. All text is in German. Prepared on a scale of 1:20,000,000. Drawn by Conrad Mannert for the publication by the Nurenburg firm of Adam Gottlieb Schneider and Weigel.