The copy sold at Christie

The copy sold at Christie's was printed in 4 sections, with the sections still remaining separate at the time it was sold.

Detail map of New Haven, Connecticut, United States Overview map of New Haven, Connecticut, United States

A: New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Abel Buell Issues the First Map of the United States Printed in the United States

1784
This copy, formerly in the New Jersey Historical Society, sold for $2,098,500 at Christie

This copy, formerly in the New Jersey Historical Society, sold for $2,098,500 at Christie's, New York, on December 3, 2010.

American goldsmith, jewelry designer, engraver, surveyor, type manufacturer, mint master, textile miller, counterfeiter Abel Buell published in New Haven, Connecticut 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.

Created right after the Treaty of Paris, which marked the formal end of the American Revolutionary War, Buell's map, engraved on four joined sheets creating an image 1094 x 1228 mm (43 x 481/4 inches), was the first map of the new United States created by an American, and published in America.  It was also 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. It covers the territory of the 13 colonies and an area east of the Mississippi River. The state boundaries are very different from those today. For example, Virginia extends from the Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River.

Only seven copies are known, several defective.  The copy in the New Jersey Historical Society, one of the finest copies from the condition standpoint, was sold at Christie's, New York on December 3, 2010 for $2,098,500 including buyer's premium. This was the highest price for any single map sold at auction.  It was purchased by philanthropist David Rubenstein and placed on loan at the Library of Congress.

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