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Charte Der XV Vereinigten Staaten von...
Franz Ludwig Gussefeld
Charte Der XV Vereinigten Staaten von Nord-America Nach Murdochischer Projection . . . F.G. Gussefeld . . . 1800 [Shows Franklinia!]
Nuremberg / 1800
Hand Colored
Gussefeld's map of the 15 United States is one of the rarest of all maps to show Franklinia and one of the few non-English language maps to include this ephemeral State.
This map is one of only a few maps to erroneously locate the State of Franklin between Kentucky and Virginia.
In the latter part of the 18th Century, the settlers in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee decided that because of poor representation in State Government, they needed to form a state of their own. A government was formed and initial organizational meetings conducted, but the breakaway state was quickly quelled by the North Carolina authorities, although not before the State of Franklinia began appearing on a number of English maps during the period. Ben Franklin himself responded that while he was honored by the decision to name a state after him, he was not able to relocate. In this instance, Franklinia is mislocated, placing it in what would become West Virginia.
The map itself is a marvelous dark impression, filled with other interesting features. Notably, Georgia truncated as a pre-cursor to the appearance of Mississippi Territory, which is not named on the map. Nice annotations, especially in the South.
Antique Maps / United States / United States