Prints
1848 Hand-Colored U.S. & Mexico Broadside & Map titled: ORNAMENTAL MAP of the UNITED STATES & MEXICO
1848-Dated, Hand-colored Lithograph Broadside with Map titled, "ORNAMENTAL MAP OF THE UNITED STATES & MEXICO," Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1848, Published by Ensigns & Thayer, 50 Ann Street, New York, Framed, Choice Very Fine.
An attractive large size Historic Mexican-American War Period Lithograph Broadside with Map that measures 30.5" x 22.5" (by sight). Framed under glass in a modern, decorative, gilt-wood frame to an overall size of approximately 36" x 36-3.4". It includes a rare central Hand-colored Map titled: "Map of the United States and Mexico, Including Oregon, Texas and the Californias." It is surmounted by Patriotic portraits of Mexican War General Taylor and General Scott, dressed in their military uniforms, being on either side of the central President George Washington. Below at bottom are colorful geographic scenes of the "Great Temple Dedicated to the Sun," Mexico, "The Halls Of The Montezumas," and at the bottom center an American Flag Steam Ship named "UNION" with text below reading "An American Exhibiting To The Sovereigns Of Europe The Progress Of His Country."
This self-proclaimed "Ornamental" Mexican War period Broadside is accomplished with a Hand-colored and Hand-carved woodblock engraving process. Multiple colors include red, green, yellow, blue, and black against a slightly toned off-white period paper sheet that has been archivally laid down upon modern cloth fabric for preservation and professionally linen matted and gold-gilt decoratively modern framed. There are some deft sealed small edge splits and a small repaired absence to the extreme outer margins hidden and covered by the mat, showing all the impressive printed portions. Other text block devices located at the right and left sides of the large central Map include information on the States of the Union at that time, including the latest "Possessions," of California and Texas. Another text block in yellow reads, "Distances In Mexico."
The Map itself is titled: "Map of the United States and Mexico - Including OREGON, TEXAS and the CALIFORNIAS." It has both heavier outline and lighter colored areas which identifies; "New California," "New Mexico," "Oregon Territory," "Missouri Territory," "Sioux District," "Indian Territory," as well as the other then existing states. There is no doubt that this Patriotic Broadside was produced in the celebratory atmosphere in the wake of, and surrounding the American victory over Mexico in 1848. We located a similar example, not framed, being offered by a dealer for $6,500. This impressive historic beautifully framed truly eye-catching historic Broadside is ready to hang on display. Provenance Ex: Alexander Gaston Collection.
The Mexican - American War was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory despite the 1836 Texas Revolution.
In addition to a naval blockade off the Mexican coast, American forces invaded and conquered New Mexico, California, and parts of what is currently northern Mexico. Another American army captured Mexico City, forcing Mexico to agree to the sale of its northern territories to the U.S.
Territorial expansion of the United States to the Pacific coast was the goal of President James K. Polk, the leader of the Democratic Party. However, the war was highly controversial in the U.S., with the Whig Party and anti-slavery elements strongly opposed. Heavy American casualties and high monetary cost were also criticized. The major consequence of the war was the forced Mexican Cession of the territories of Alta California and New Mexico to the U.S. in exchange for $18 million. Mexico accepted the Rio Grande as its national border, and the loss of Texas. Meanwhile gold was discovered in California, which immediately became an international magnet for the California Gold Rush. The political aftermath of the war raised the slavery issue in the U.S., leading to intense debates that pointed to civil war; the Compromise of 1850 provided a brief respite.
In the U.S., the conflict is sometimes referred to as the Mexican War or the U.S."Mexican War. In Mexico, terms for it include (primera) Intervencin Estadounidense en Mxico ((first) American intervention in Mexico), Invasin Estadounidense de Mxico (American Invasion of Mexico), and Guerra del 47 (The War of '47).
ENSIGN & THAYER. "Ornamental Map of the United States & Mexico." New York: Ensign & Thayer, 1848. Lithograph map, with full original hand color, sheet dimensions: 31 x 23 inches.
Created at a time of incredible expansion for the nation, this map boldly proclaims in no uncertain terms that America is poised to emerge as a dominant global force.
1848 was a pivotal year that saw the U.S. on the cusp of victory in the Mexican American War, which ended with Mexico being forced to cede almost half of her territory at the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on the 4th of July of that year. Texas had become a state in 1845, and California, as well as the area to the north which would become Oregon and Washington State were being recognized as U.S. Territories.
This sudden addition of land was the first major expansion of the country since the Louisiana Purchase and began the great migration to the west and southwest that continues to this day. Portraits of Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott-two heroes of the war with Mexico-flank a central image of a mythic-looking and approving George Washington framed in flags and sunbeams.
At the base of the sheet, two scenes depict an ancient Mexican culture that has just be defeated by the upstart American conquerors. The "Panoramic View from New York to the Pacific Ocean by the Contemplated Oregon Railroad", located between the map and the top register, is a highly stylized cross-section of the newly transcontinental America.
This pictorial expression of 'Manifest Destiny' anticipates the construction of a transnational railway more than twenty years before such an ambition was realized.
In "An American Exhibiting to the Sovereigns of Europe the Progress of his country" a healthy Walt Whitman-looking figure in fashionable and casual dress stands on the battlement of a fort bristling with cannon, confidently gesturing to a vista depicting scenes that embody the virtues of America's natural resources and the ingenuity of her people. The European dignitaries are outfitted in stuffy formal garb and look sallow, old, paunched, and intimidated. The landscape features a crowded river filled with steam and sailing ships, rich farmlands dotting lush fields, and bold cloud-piercing mountains surmounted only by an ultra-modern balloon rising in the sky.
This juxtaposition was meant to highlight the difference between the Old world and the New, with America as the leaders of the future-a message that the readers of that time must have heard loud and clear. This patriotic tableau, richly ornamented, was the ultimate statement that the popular notion of 'Manifest Destiny' was being fulfilled in the west. In the map of the United States and Mexico, which makes up the centerpiece of the tableau, the United States is shown to extend from sea to sea.
Her new possessions include the vast new territory of 'New California', occupying all of the modern states of California, Nevada, Utah, and most of Arizona. New Mexico runs down the length of the upper Rio Grande, while an enlarged Texas (which became a U.S. state in 1845), prominently occupies the center of the map. Also featured is the Oregon Territory, in the Pacific Northwest, which officially became part of the U.S. in 1846, while the vast 'Missouri Territory' and the 'Indian Territory' (the latter still reserved for Native Americans) occupy most the Great Plains.
References: Wheat, 'California Gold Fields', no.38; Wheat 'Mapping the Transmississippi West', no. 557. Location note: Texas drawer. N de ref. del artculo 72GM07