GREAT BRITAIN. FOREIGN OFFICE. North American Boundary. Map of that Portion of Her Majesty's Colonies of New Brunswick and Lower Canada. London: [Foreign Office, 1840].

GREAT BRITAIN. FOREIGN OFFICE. North American Boundary. Map of that Portion of Her Majesty's Colonies of New Brunswick and Lower Canada the Title to Which is Disputed by the Government of the United States to Accompany a Report of the Investigation of that Country. London: [Foreign Office, 1840]. Comprising 2 maps (cartographer: James D. Featherstonhaugh; engraver: James Wyld) of which: MAP A: Engraved folding map, dissected into 32 parts and mounted on linen, as issued (30 3/4 x 48 in.; 78.1 x 121.9 Cm), partially handcolored, edged in green cloth and backed in green paper; faint offsetting, two fold splits, centerfold strengthened. MAP B: "Referred to in the Report of Colonel Mudge and Mr. Featherstonhaugh, the Commissioners Appointed by the British Government to Explore and Survey the Territory in Dispute between Great Britain and the United States of America under the Second Article of the Treaty of 1783." 8 engraved maps each linen-mounted (total 19 1/2 x 30 3/4 in.; 49.5 x 78.1 cm), partially colored in outline, edged in green cloth, backed in green paper; light offsetting, one or two small tears to folds, not affecting image. Contemporary green cloth slipcase with printed label dated April, 1840; upper joints split at the top. FIRST EDITION. MAPPING OUT THE DIPLOMATIC END OF BORDER DISPUTES ALONG THE NORTHEAST BOUNDARY. Territorial encroachments initiated by Maine on British lands in Aroostook culminated in 1839 with the menacing encampment of 10,000 Maine troops on British borders. General Winfield Scott was sent by the federal government to negotiate a truce with the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. Great Britain, now convinced of the gravity of the situation, authorized a boundary commission headed by Featherstonhaugh and Mudge. After they examined the territory in question and the whole history of the dispute, Featherstonehaugh and Mudge concluded that the line claimed by the United States was inconsistent with the physical geography of the country and terms of the Treaty. They had in fact discovered a line of highlands south of that claimed, which was in accordance with the terms of the Treaty. Their findings were incorporated into the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842) which allowed for free navigation of the St. John River and rectified the boundaries at the head of the Connecticut River and the north end of Lake Champlain. It also established details of the border between Lake Superior and Lake of the Woods and (as defined by the Treaty of Paris) and reaffirmed the location of the border at the 49th parallel in the western frontier up to the Rocky Mountains (as defined by the Treaty of 1818). The latter two specifics were necessary because of errors in the Mitchell map, which was used in the negotiations of the Treaty of Paris of 1783. PROVENANCE: Charles J. Tanebaum Collection of American Cartography, Sotheby's New York, 11 December 2008, lot 4. REFERENCES: Streeter sale 7:3706; Phillips, Maps, p. 603. Bookseller Inventory # 65ERM0122