Collections record Beta

Map of the United States

2020-21-1

Manuscript map of the United States, attributed to Catharine Beecher (1800-1878). Ink and watercolor map on wove paper, originally mounted to paperboard backing (removed during conservation). Map shows primarily the eastern half of the United States; the westernmost states are Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. Also shown are the Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, and Louisiana Territories; West and East Florida; and areas of British North America including the North-Western Territory. The states and territories are outlined in watercolor and labeled in large ink lettering. The names of cities, towns, rivers, and other features are in small ink lettering. Map has an overlay of thin ink lines denoting longitude (20°E to 20°W, with 0° meridian centered on Washington, D.C.) and latitude (26°N to 48°N). Narrow gold border surrounding map. Depicted within the Atlantic Ocean are six ink scenes or vignettes showing naval battles: USS Chesapeake v. HMS Shannon (1813), USS Constitution v. HMS Guerriere (1812), USS Essex v. HMS Alert (1812), USS Constitution v. HMS Java (1812), USS Wasp v. HMS Frolic (1812), and the USS Hornet v. HMS Peacock (1813). Ink and watercolor cartouche in lower-right corner, with an eagle above the text, "THIS NEW MAP OF/The/United States/Is respectfully presented to/Mrs. R. Foote/By her affectionate grandaughter/C. BEECHER." Other details of note are the inclusion of the Connecticut Reserve in northeast Ohio (already a state by the time the map was drawn) and the inclusion of Native Nations in territories and some states.

Catharine Beecher moved to Litchfield with her family in 1810, where her father, the Rev. Lyman Beecher, took over the ministry of the Congregational Church. Catharine studied and taught at Sarah Pierce's Litchfield Female Academy from 1810 to 1816, and later founded a school for women in Hartford that became the Hartford Female Seminary. A number of Catharine's siblings also attended the Academy, and the Beecher home boarded students from the school. The inscription on the map indicates that Catharine presented it to her grandmother, Roxana Ward Foote, who was the mother of Roxana Foote Beecher (Lyman Beecher's first wife and Catharine's mother). Given the date of the source material, the similarity to known Academy pieces, and the fact that mapmaking was a documented part of Pierce's curriculum, it is fairly likely that Catharine completed or at least began this map while attending or teaching at the Academy.

Given the similarities between them, Beecher's map is very likely based on an 1813 "Improved Map of the United States" published by Shelton & Kensett. The printed map includes several illustrated naval battles from the War of 1812 (between 7 and 10, depending on edition), including the six copied by Beecher. Some of the misspellings on Beecher's map are taken from the printed map (a number of the ship names are incorrect, including "Chesapeak), while others are attributed to Beecher ("Constition" instead of Constitution in one of the drawings). Her cartouche is a modified version of the printed one, personalized to reflect the gift to her grandmother. There are also some similarities between Beecher's map and others produced by Female Academy students (see Knickerbocker's map, 1909-21-0).

• Beecher, Catharine, 1800-1878

1814-1816

Overall length 21.25", width 16.75"

• watercolor
• paperboard
• paper
• ink