Bonivet, Giraldon (19th c). Carte de L'Amerique Septentrionale Avec Les Regiones Polares [North America, North Pole]. 1825

Giraldon Bonivet (19th c.)
Carte de l'Amérique Septentrionale avec les Régions Polares
Paris, 1825
Engraved map with outline hand color
Sheet size: 19 5/16 x 22 5/16 inches

This elegant French map of North America by Giraldon Bonivet, dated 1825, presents a refined and highly detailed image of the continent in the early 19th century, during a period of political reshaping and scientific exploration. Centered on the polar regions and extending southward into Central America, the map captures both the established territorial boundaries and the cartographic uncertainties of the time.

Prominently shown is the young United States, with its western boundary extending just beyond the Mississippi River—a reminder of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which had dramatically expanded American territory but had yet to be fully surveyed. Much of the Pacific Northwest remains lightly sketched and labeled “Colombie,” indicating the still-contentious claims in the Oregon Territory between Britain and the United States. Mexico is marked clearly, just before it would lose much of its northern territory in the coming decades.

The Arctic is portrayed with curiosity and ambiguity. While the general shape of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago is outlined, much of the far north remains speculative—a reflection of France’s and Britain’s ongoing interest in discovering a Northwest Passage, which continued to drive exploratory missions throughout the first half of the 19th century.

Bonivet’s finely engraved border and precise typographic style evoke the scientific clarity of Enlightenment cartography, while also serving as an instrument of education and diplomacy. Maps like this would have been published for scholars, navigators, and government officials seeking to understand the shifting balance of power and geography in the Americas and the polar frontier.