1830 School Boy Manuscript Map of the World

A very attractive manuscript schoolboy / schoolgirl map of the world executed by George Freeman, age 13, in or about 1830. The map covers the world on a Mercator Projection. Maps of this kind were made by school children, primarily in New England and England, between roughly 1795 and 1850, as a way of teaching geography. It is slightly more common to find such maps produced by school girls, so they are typically referred to as by the generic term, 'Schoolgirl Maps.' Schoolgirl maps are typically manuscript on paper, as here, but examples are also known in other forms, including embroidery and even carved into wood. The present example is in fact a schoolboy map, prepared by one George Freeman. This example comes late in the tradition, and exhibits advanced conventions whereby the map is partially printed, but left significantly blank, so that the details could be filled in. In this case the scroll border and gridlines are printed in lithograph. Given the precision with which it is drawn, it is possible that the lines of the continents were also printed, but it is impossible to tell at this point due to thick over coloration. The interior of the continents and all of the text, exclusive of the map's title are manuscript. The map is undated, but based upon the geography we believe this map to have been drawn before the Texan Revolution (1835 – 1836) but after the founding of Fort Astoria in 1811. Of George Freeman, we have been able to isolate no definitive facts. A fine piece of Americana.