Fascinating map of the border region between Canada and the United States from Lake Winnipeg to Nova Scotia. Original colour. This extraordinary map is one of a trio of similar maps published by Thomson’s great competitors, John Pinkerton and John Cary. All three form a fascinating insight into the geography and history of the Great Lakes and beyond.

Geographically, there is no reference to the recent conflict between the United States and Great Britain in 1812-14. Rather, the map is divided into three regions: Upper Canada, Lower Canada and New South Wales in the far west. New Brunswick is also an area in the east, showing the disputed border with Maine.

The primary sources for the map would have been Sir David William Smith (Smyth) who performed several important surveys in Upper Canada, together with the archives of the Hudson’s Bay Company, many of whose “Houses” are marked on the map. On a related note, several settlements belonging to the rival North Western Company are also marked, including one which is well within United States Territory, south of Lake Superior in the area labelled “Chippeway Territory” (modern Wisconsin).

Another notable feature of the map is the inclusion of many “portage” points and fords, showing the routes of the fur trade, both through the Great Lakes and all the way to Lake Winnipeg. There is liberal borrowing from Cary’s 1807 map of the same region to portray this information.

Original colour. [CAN3044]