BUELL, Abel (1742-1822). A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America Layd Down from the Latest Observations and Best Authorities Agreeable to the Peace of 1783. Humbly Inscribed to his Excellency the Governor and Company of the State of Connecticut By their Most Obedient and Very Humble Servant Abel Buell . New Haven: Abel Buell, 1784.
BUELL, Abel (1742-1822). A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America Layd Down from the Latest Observations and Best Authorities Agreeable to the Peace of 1783. Humbly Inscribed to his Excellency the Governor and Company of the State of Connecticut By their Most Obedient and Very Humble Servant Abel Buell . New Haven: Abel Buell, 1784. Hand-colored engraved map on four joined sheets, image 1094 x 1228 mm (43 x 48¼ inches), sheet 1152 x 1286 mm (45¼ x 50¾ inches). (Some small losses at sheet edges, a few small holes affecting some letters, a few other repairs.) Archivally mounted, matted and framed. Provenance : William L. Dayton (1807-1864), Senator from New Jersey and Minister Plenipotentiary to France under Abraham Lincoln, purchased in Paris, 1862 and given to; The New Jersey Historical Society (see below). ABEL BUELL'S MONUMENTAL WALL MAP OF 1784: AMERICA'S FIRST NATIONAL MAP -- A LEGENDARY RARITY Abel Buell's "A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America" represents numerous "firsts" in the cartographic history of the United States: in addition to being THE FIRST MAP OF THE UNITED STATES PUBLISHED IN AMERICA, it is the first map printed in America to show the flag of the United States and the first map to be copyrighted in the United States. Despite these important attributes, and the grandeur of its production, it is known in only a handful of copies, with the New Jersey Historical Society's ranking among the finest in condition and state of preservation. Paul Cohen, whose recent study of the map brings Buell's cartographic work into full light, notes that "Because Buell's map is unobtainable to collectors, it has become one of the most coveted of all American maps. None has been reported in private hands, and only three examples have changed hands in the past 120 years. If one were for sale today, it would command the highest price of any map printed in America." ABEL BUELL: CONNECTICUT SILVERSMITH, TYPEFOUNDER AND ENGRAVER Both before and after Buell created "one of the most important American cartographical documents," he led a varied and complicated entrepreneurial life (Stokes & Haskell). A native of Killingworth, Connecticut, Buell gained early notoriety in his state as a counterfeiter. In 1764, when he was just 22 years old, he was convicted of altering currency of the colony from two shillings six pence to thirty shillings. Caught in this act of counterfeiting, he was sentenced to the mandatory punishment of "imprisonment, cropping and branding," though his prosecutor was restrained: "The tip only of Buell's ear was cropped off: it was held on his tongue to keep it warm till it was put on his ear again, where it grew on. He was branded on the forehead as high as possible. This was usually done by a hot iron, in the form of a letter designating the crime" (John Warner Barber Connecticut Historical Collections , 2nd ed., New Haven, 1836, pp.531-32). Buell moved to New Haven in 1770. Within a short time, he had established his own business there as the leading copper-plate engraver in the state. Lawrence C. Wroth, Buell's only biographer, characterized him as "a restless, unstable, inventive genius" and his many inventions and career changes bear this out. Adding to his list of firsts is that of type maker: he was the first to make printing types cut and cast in America. He invented a machine for grinding and polishing precious stones (making him the first Connecticut resident to receive a patent), and another for processing cotton. After the Revolutionary War ended, Buell used the minting machine he had invented to cast the State of Connecticut's first official pennies. And he is remembered well by decorative arts collectors as a silversmith, the art in which he first apprenticed. Somehow, with all his accomplishments, Buell could not maintain his business, had an often tumultuous family life and various poor business ventures cost him his financial security. He died in 1825 in
BUELL, Abel (1742-1822). A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America Layd Down from the Latest Observations and Best Authorities Agreeable to the Peace of 1783. Humbly Inscribed to his Excellency the Governor and Company of the State of Connecticut By their Most Obedient and Very Humble Servant Abel Buell . New Haven: Abel Buell, 1784.
BUELL, Abel (1742-1822). A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America Layd Down from the Latest Observations and Best Authorities Agreeable to the Peace of 1783. Humbly Inscribed to his Excellency the Governor and Company of the State of Connecticut By their Most Obedient and Very Humble Servant Abel Buell . New Haven: Abel Buell, 1784. Hand-colored engraved map on four joined sheets, image 1094 x 1228 mm (43 x 48¼ inches), sheet 1152 x 1286 mm (45¼ x 50¾ inches). (Some small losses at sheet edges, a few small holes affecting some letters, a few other repairs.) Archivally mounted, matted and framed. Provenance : William L. Dayton (1807-1864), Senator from New Jersey and Minister Plenipotentiary to France under Abraham Lincoln, purchased in Paris, 1862 and given to; The New Jersey Historical Society (see below). ABEL BUELL'S MONUMENTAL WALL MAP OF 1784: AMERICA'S FIRST NATIONAL MAP -- A LEGENDARY RARITY Abel Buell's "A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America" represents numerous "firsts" in the cartographic history of the United States: in addition to being THE FIRST MAP OF THE UNITED STATES PUBLISHED IN AMERICA, it is the first map printed in America to show the flag of the United States and the first map to be copyrighted in the United States. Despite these important attributes, and the grandeur of its production, it is known in only a handful of copies, with the New Jersey Historical Society's ranking among the finest in condition and state of preservation. Paul Cohen, whose recent study of the map brings Buell's cartographic work into full light, notes that "Because Buell's map is unobtainable to collectors, it has become one of the most coveted of all American maps. None has been reported in private hands, and only three examples have changed hands in the past 120 years. If one were for sale today, it would command the highest price of any map printed in America." ABEL BUELL: CONNECTICUT SILVERSMITH, TYPEFOUNDER AND ENGRAVER Both before and after Buell created "one of the most important American cartographical documents," he led a varied and complicated entrepreneurial life (Stokes & Haskell). A native of Killingworth, Connecticut, Buell gained early notoriety in his state as a counterfeiter. In 1764, when he was just 22 years old, he was convicted of altering currency of the colony from two shillings six pence to thirty shillings. Caught in this act of counterfeiting, he was sentenced to the mandatory punishment of "imprisonment, cropping and branding," though his prosecutor was restrained: "The tip only of Buell's ear was cropped off: it was held on his tongue to keep it warm till it was put on his ear again, where it grew on. He was branded on the forehead as high as possible. This was usually done by a hot iron, in the form of a letter designating the crime" (John Warner Barber Connecticut Historical Collections , 2nd ed., New Haven, 1836, pp.531-32). Buell moved to New Haven in 1770. Within a short time, he had established his own business there as the leading copper-plate engraver in the state. Lawrence C. Wroth, Buell's only biographer, characterized him as "a restless, unstable, inventive genius" and his many inventions and career changes bear this out. Adding to his list of firsts is that of type maker: he was the first to make printing types cut and cast in America. He invented a machine for grinding and polishing precious stones (making him the first Connecticut resident to receive a patent), and another for processing cotton. After the Revolutionary War ended, Buell used the minting machine he had invented to cast the State of Connecticut's first official pennies. And he is remembered well by decorative arts collectors as a silversmith, the art in which he first apprenticed. Somehow, with all his accomplishments, Buell could not maintain his business, had an often tumultuous family life and various poor business ventures cost him his financial security. He died in 1825 in
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