Paris: Bellin, 1764. This map places Mexico City in its surrounding landscape. Its primary focus is Lake Texcoco, a natural lake containing a small islet on which the city was originally built, replacing the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. Since the Spanish failed to fix the Aztec dams surrounding the city after seizing it, it became prone to flooding that would eventually bring about the lake's drainage. Compared to present-day Mexico City, which today fills the entirety of the dry basin... More

Paris: Bellin, 1764. Map. Engraving with hand-coloring. Image measures 8 1/2" x 6". Sheet measures 9 1/4 x 7 1/2". This detailed map shows the Port of Veracruz in Mexico in the middle of the 18th century. Founded in the 1500s by Hernan Cortes, the city became one of the wealthiest cities in New Spain. On this sea chart, however, the city's appearance in the lower left corner makes it secondary to the islands off the coast that are the... More

Paris: Bellin, 1764. Map. Colored. 8 1/2" x 6 1/2". North oriented to the left, depths and soundings noted. Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772) was the official hydrographer to the French king and the first person to hold the title of "Ingénieur de la Marine of the Depot des cartes et plans de la Marine" (chief engineer of the French Hydrographical Office). More

Paris: Buchon, Jean Alexandre, 1825. Map. Engraving with original hand coloring. Image measures 14" x 14.25", image plus text and title measures 18.25" x 25.5". Fantastic double page map of North America. Shows states, towns, waterways and topographical features in great detail. Includes historical and cultural information in French. From the French (1825) edition of Carey and Lea's 1822 "A Complete Historical, Chronological, and Geographical American Atlas". Minor overall wear, slight crease to lower left corner and small tear to left edge. More

Philadelphia: Carey & Lea, 1823. Map. Engraving with original hand coloring. Image measures 14" x 13.25", image plus text measures 16.5" x 20.5". Beautiful double page map of North America. Towns, states, waterways and topographical details shown in immense detail. Extensive information pertaining to history, climate and culture surrounds map. From "A Complete Historical, Chronological, and Geographical American Atlas...". Minor toning along original centerfold. More

Philadelphia: P.S. Duval Lith. 1847. Battle plan. Uncolored lithograph. Image measures 12.25 x 19 inches. This battle plan from the Mexican-American War is an uncolored military survey of the Mexican defense lines and the U.S. lines of attack at Cerro Gordo in the Valley of Mexico. The battle of Cerro Gordo was one of the major battles during the Mexican American War. The map notes important roads, troop position, camps, batteries and rivers. Topography is beautifully rendered. After Major General... More

Philadelphia: Charles Desilver, 1856. Map. Engraving with original hand coloring. Image measures 12.25" x 15". A lovely map of Mexico published by Thomas Cowperthwait just a few years following the end of the Mexican-American War. It features one inset of the Valley of Mexico (at lower left), Guatemala or Central America, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec showing the proposed route from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean (the proposed trans-continental canal was never built), and the Isthmus or Nigaragua... More

Weimar: Geographisches Institut, 1866. Map. Steel engraving with original hand color. Sheet measures 22.5" x 27". This is a beautiful map of Mexico and Central America dating to 1866. The map is equipped with many small place names, rivers, lakes, roads, railways, etc. The Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coast are included as are parts of southwest and Southeast United States, including Florida. In the lower left corner we find two inset maps. One shows the railway project of... More

Philadelphia: P.S. Duval Lith. 1847. Battle plan. Colored lithograph. Image measures 12.5 x 19.5 inches. This military survey outlines the operations of the US Army during the Battle of Molino del Rey. This battle was one of the bloodiest in the entire Mexican-American War, and was between General Antonio Leon and General William J. Worth. The Americans won this battle, but the loss of life was so severe that it might as well have been a defeat (this is also... More

London: Robert Sayer, 1792. Map. Engraving with hand coloring. Image measures 18.75" x 24.25". Nautical chart of the Northeast part of Mexico and the Gulf with detailed topographical features such as Laguna de Tamiahua and the Bay of Campeche islands. Rhumb lines and a beautifully colored compass rose. From Jefferys' "West India Atlas", originally published by Sayer & Bennett in 1775. Full original margins, minor chipping along bottom edge. Expert repairs to centerfold. Minor stain in right margin. Thomas Jefferys... More

London: Robert Sayer, 1762. Map. Hand-colored. 8" x 12 1/4". This uncommon map of the city of Veracruz situates the port at the north end of the coastline as it extends down to Anton Lizardo. Both the city and its protective fort, San Juan de Ulua, are colored in red, highlighting the port's significance as a center of Spanish trade. Although titled as a map of Veracruz and the road leading to it, it can also be seen as an... More

Paris: J. Migeon, 1891. Map. Engraving with original coloring. Image size 12.25 x 16.25 inches. Sheet size 15.25 x 20.25 inches. Shows some light foxing. In very good condition. From M.A. Martineau's Nouvel Atlas Illustre Geographie Universelle. Pictorial inset at top right shows Mexico City, map inset at bottom left shows the isthmus of Panama prior to the canal being built. Good detail in Central America and the Caribbean. More

Antwerp: Abraham Ortelius, 1587. Map. Uncolored engraving. Image measures 14" x 19.5". These two maps on one sheet detail areas of western Mexico, above, and the Greater Antilles, below. Ortelius created them from information compiled by other mapmakers, such as Mercator, Guttierez, and Alsons de Sata Cruz. These sources allowed him to include a wealth of detailed information that is mostly if not entirely accurate. Above, the map of western Mexico shows the area around Culiacan and the Spanish settlement... More