(History of Cartography, Slavery, American Civil War): A map of the cotton kingdom and its dependencies in America by Olmsted, Frederick Law - 1861

New York: Mason Brothers, 5 and 7 Mercer Street, 1861. Map with hand coloring, very good, few extra creases from being bound in book and a couple of short crease tears (thin paper) repaired verso with archival paper tape. The map image measures 28 x 42 cm. The map is still bound in the original book (vol. 1) by Olmsted, "The Cotton Kingdom: A Traveller's Observations on Cotton and Slavery in the American Slave States." Both original text volumes present, ex-library with library stamp on title pages of both volumes and library markings on original brown pebbled cloth spine. This is the first American edition of the work, issued very shortly after the London edition (both in 1861). Vol. 1: viii, 376; vol. 2: iv, 404 including index. Library stickers on both rear paste-downs. Bindings in good condition with some scuffing on edges. This map is a "landmark in American statistical cartography and one of the first attempst to measure agricultural productivity with a map" (ref: Schulten, "Mapping the Nation...," U. Chicago Press, 2012, p. 148). Olmsted was a prominent figure in American landscape architecture and one of the designers of NY's Central Park. His well-known signature (printed) is in the cartouche of the map. This increasingly uncommon map was an early attempt to depict the efficiencies of slave vs. free labor, and help decide whether cotton production could move north and west and the country expanded. Other refs: Sabin 572401, Howes O76. . Signed by Author. First U.S. Edition. Cloth. Map.