41. U.S. Surveyor General. “Sketch of the Public Surveys in New Mexico 1862” (New York: J. Bien, 1862). Lithographed map folded into Annual Report of the Surveyor General (H.R. Doc. No. 1, 37^th Cong., 3^nd sess., 1862). 21 x 27 3/4" at neat line. Sheet size: 22 1/2 x 28 3/4". Faint darkening at old folds; a couple of corner splits; faint transference; l. margin trimmed to neat line where formerly bound in. Excellent.

Price: $500. [ Order ]

One of the series of yearly maps of western states and territories produced for the annual reports of the General Land Office documenting the progress of the public surveys, the present map shows a horizontal New Mexico Territory that covers all of future Arizona. However, changes from the preceding year’s map have occurred, making the 1862 edition “the year’s most notable map,” according to Wheat. Calling the 1862 more advanced than the previous year’s map, Wheat notes that Colorado is no longer included in New Mexico Territory. Although he laments that “the proper spelling of ‘Tuscon’ is still an unsolved mystery in Santa Fe,” he also praises the map for several improvements: “Considerable use has been made of the maps of the Ives Expedition . . . and in New Mexico several new forts are shown, including Fort Bowie, Fort McLane, and the original Fort Wingate, south of Mt. Taylor.”

The map contains generalized surface notes in sparsely settled regions, but it provides excellent detail for the inhabited parts of New Mexico and modern-day Arizona, recording topography, townships delineated in the Rio Grande Valley, forts, towns, mining areas, Indian reservations and villages, private claims, pueblo claims, missions, old Indian ruins, and exploration routes. The map remains fascinating for the details it presents in the continuing evolution of New Mexico Territory in the 1860s.

Ref.: Wheat, Mapping the Transmississippi West, vol. V, p. 55, no. 1053.

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