1824 Smith Chart of the World's Mountains and Rivers

A groundbreaking convention establishing map of extreme scarcity, this is Charles Smith and W. R. Gardner's 1824 comparative mountains and rivers of the world chart. It is the second known iteration of a comparative chart to depict both mountains and rivers in the same plate, preceded only by the Gardner/Darton chart of 1823 – thus defining a cartographic style that would flourish throughout the remainder of the 19th century.

Mountains So High

The comparative mountains section, occupying the lower right half of this chart, details the principal mountains of the world. Ranges are color coded to show different types of vegetation and numerically referenced to tables in the lower right quadrant. The elevations of several important cities including Paris, Rome, London, Geneva, Mexico, Bogota, and Quito, among others, are noted. There are also extensive notations on vegetation, volcanic activity, and lichen, much of which is no doubt influenced by Humboldt. Notes curiosities that would have been relevant at the time, such as 'The Greatest Altitude of the Growth of Peruvian Bark', 'The Glacier of Maladetts', the 'Table Land of Pamar', and the 'Greatest Altitude attained by Humboldt 19400 ft'.

Rivers So Long

The upper left portion of this chart is dominated by the world's greatest rivers. Smith and Gardner attempt not only to express the lengths of the various rivers, but also details regarding their course and sources. All along each river important lakes, cities, directions, and distance measurements are noted. Here the Amazon is identified as the world's greatest river at some 3850 miles, followed by the Mississippi at 3760 miles. The Nile comes up a sad fifth at just 3240 miles, though admittedly its full length had yet to be explored.

Publication History and Census

This map was issued and sold independently by Charles Smith and W. Gardner. Examples were issued in dissected case format (as in this example), as a wall map, and as a flat separate sheet. That Wolter, whose study of comparative charts is the most significant scholarly approach to this material currently published, was not aware of this map is suggestive of its extreme rarity. We note perhaps 3 in instructional collections. It was updated and reissued in 1825, 1830, and 1835. After which the plates passed to the New York based Colton firm, who issued editions in 1850 and 1853 before replacing the decorative border and incorporating it into their 1855 atlases. A rare discovery that will not likely appear on the market again soon.