Charles Copley’s large, well-drawn map of the United States and Republican Texas was one of seven maps that he engraved for John McCullough’s 1843–44 gazetteer. It provided illustration for an article on the “new and independent republic” of Texas, which included information by Arthur Iken and William Kennedy, both of whom were Texas consuls in London during the 1840s. Copley shows Texas in its truncated form, outlined in pink, and without its panhandle or the Trans-Pecos region. He includes all major cities existing in the early years of the republic.

Elsewhere, the map covers the United States from Maine to central New Mexico as far as Santa Fe, which is shown at the very edge of the map just inside the neat line. Copley labels an expansive Indian Territory and Mandan District with dozens of Indian tribes identified. Across the area he places a note: “This Desert is traversed by immense herds of Buffaloes, and inhabited by roaming tribes of Indians.” The states in the eastern half of the country are well defined with information that includes cities, river systems, and topographical features. The inset maps of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia provide many details about the cities and their environs.

Overall the map offered here is a fascinating document of the United States at mid-century, just before Texas was annexed in 1845.