Crossroads of Empires: A John Tallis Map of the Isthmus of Panama, 1851

Name: Crossroads of Empires: A John Tallis Map of the Isthmus of Panama, 1851
Brand: John Tallis
SKU: BG-13736-3
Price: 325 USD
Availability: InStock

$325

€290 · dollar price at today's exchange rate

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Shipping to the United States: $51 standard, $73 express, insured and tracked.

Date: 1851
Maker: John Tallis
Kind: Maps
Size: 27.2 × 36.2 cm (10.7 × 14.3 in)
Condition: Good. Good given age. Original fold in middle as published. General age-related toning, please study scan carefully.
Period: Westward Expansion & Civil War
Places: Central America
Reference: BG-13736-3

What the condition grades mean

Excellent: Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good: Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good: Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair: Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.

Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.

Guaranteed original. This is an original of the period stated, not a later reproduction or print-on-demand copy. If it is ever shown to be otherwise, we refund you in full.

Shipping to the United States. Sent from our gallery in Langweer, the Netherlands, flat between boards or rolled in a tube, and fully insured. Delivery and import charges.

About this piece

The Isthmus of Panama, an original steel-engraved map by John Tallis and Company, London and New York, published in 1851. The title "Isthmus of Panama" is lettered at the top, and the map is surrounded by a decorative border, with the imprint at the foot and the credit for the map drawn and engraved by J. Rapkin.

The map runs along the narrow land from Costa Rica and Nicaragua at the left to the Gulf of Darien at the right, with the Atlantic Ocean above and the Pacific below. Rivers, mountain ranges and towns are marked, and Panama City and the Bay of Panama appear on the Pacific side. A printed note reads "The Proposed Railway and Canal routes are Colored", with the routes drawn in red across the isthmus. A view of the fort at Chagres sits at the upper right, and a scene of travelers crossing the Cordilleras is at the lower left.

The date places the sheet at the height of the California gold rush, when travelers crossed the isthmus on their way between the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.

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