Carta General del Imperio Mexicano Formada y Corregida Con presencia de los ultimos dates y el auxilio de las autoridades mas competentes. Mexico. Impa. Litoga de DeCaen, Editor. Esquima del Callejon del Espiritu Santo y Coliseo Viejo. 1864

FIRST EDITION. Detailed large format map of Mexico, to include Texas, published in Mexico City. Lithograped map, on 4 sheets, original linen backing with brass eyelets at each corner and two extra at top; neat line to neat line: 77.5 x 112.5 cm; overall sheet size: 78.1 x 114.5 cm. Upper left section missing (13 x 9 cm), creased at folds, overall browning and light waterstaining along centerfold (more visible on verso). The map is one of the earliest large format maps of Mexico printed in Mexico. The map includes reference tables to symbols used. Distance table. Table listing 29 departments (Estados y territorios), their capitals, population and area. Scale: 1 inch to about 52 miles. Two diagrams show relative lengths of rivers and heights of mountains. Two profiles of the roads between Mexico City and Vera Cruz and between Mexico City and Acapulco. Four inset maps, the largest of which shows the roads between Mexico City and Vera Cruz.

Decaen based this map on his 1858 Atlas map and his larger map of 1863. Including boundary lines from the Guadalupe Hidalgo and Gadsden-Mesilla treaties.

Very rare map; only other recorded copy is in the Orozco y Berra Collection of the Mexican National Archives. A second state is knpwn of which a handfull copies are recorded.

Map showing the country when Maximilian landed at Veracruz on May 28, 1864 but from the very outset he found himself involved in serious difficulties since the Mexican liberals, led by President Benito Juárez, refused to recognize his rule and there was continuous warfare between his French troops and the Mexican republicans.
The Emperor and Empress set up their palace at Chapultepec, a hill on the outskirts of Mexico City that had been a retreat for Aztec emperors and more recently a military academy.
Maximilian ordered a wide avenue cut through the city from Chapultepec to the city center; Campeche who was declared a separate state on April 29, 1863 here still part of Yukatan. Campeche was home to the ancient Mayan culture. Their advanced cultural and scientific development made the Maya's one of the most important pre-Hispanic cultures in Latin America.

Together with
[2] Manuscript map: “Guerre du Mexique Expédition dite de l’interieur Carte du territoire parcouru les troupes françaises.” Black and blue ink on heavy paper. Region shown: upper left: Bolaños; upper center: Zacatecas; upper right : Tala (Jalisco); lower left: Colima; lower right: Toluca and Mexico City. Shown in dark blue ink are Rio de Lerma and Rio Grande. N.p., n.d. 13 x 49.5 cm. Tear at right at lower cen ter (no losses). Fine, showing a large area in Central Mexico that was explored by a French party.

[3] Untitled manuscript map with table (“Parties”) at top left, below which is Huexocinco; Cofre de Perote at top right; key to villages forts , etc. (“Explicacion des Signes”) and Atlixo at lower left; Acatepec at lower right. Drawn on carto graphical linen. Precisely executed with superb detail, outlining boundaries and other details in color. N.p., n.d. 64 x 87.5 cm. Some light browning, but overall a large, fine finished map, probably from a field survey.

[4] Untitled manuscript map in black ink and a few features in red; region shown: upper left: Lac de Zumpango and Cuautitlan; upper right: Zacatl an; lower left: Tlalpan; lower right: south of Huexocingo. Drawn on cartographical linen. Precisely executed with good detail detail. N.p., n.d. 50 x 66 cm. Very fine.

[5] Untitled manuscript map of Guadalajara and surrounding regions: Tequila at upper left; Atemajac at lower left; Tololotlán and Laguna de Chapala at right; road and waters shown in black and blue respectively, towns in red. Ink on p aper mounted on contemporary paper board, with remains of original lilac ribbon in hole at top. N.p., n.d. Irregular shape (upper right corner cut away), approximately 28 x 34.5 cm. A bit of light staining at copy center and some minor creasing and browning.

[6] ARRIZAGA, José María. Carta geografica del obispado de Michoacan en 1863, Formada por el Sr. Canónigo Lic. D. José María Arrizaga. [below neat line at left] Lit de Salazar. [Mexico City], 1863. Lithograph map with outline color and key, neat line to neat line: 39 x 28 cm. Boundaries redefined with contemporary dark bro wn ink. Ink note at top: “Feuille No. 11” and at bottom “Ed. Tierroy.” Margins trimmed close and a bit ragged, a few splits and tears, minor loss to lower neat line. Orozco y Berra, Materials para una cartografie mexicana 1018. Page 3 of 3.

[7] Carta agronómica. Carte agronomique. Algodon Coton [below neat line] A. Donamette, Imp. | Gravée chez Monrocq Sc.-Paris. Paris, n.d. [1891]. Title in Spanish and French. Chromolithograph map; neat line to neat line: 71 x 96.5 cm; overall sheet size: 75 x 103 cm. A few splits at folds (no losses), else fine. Color keyed map to cotton production in Mexico. This map and the next two were part of a scientific publication that began to be published in Paris in 1889: Bosquejo de una carta geologica de la Republica Mexicana. Formada por disposicion del Secretario de Fomento, Gral. C. Pac heco, por una Comision especial. Bajo la direccion del Profesor A. del Castillo, director de la escuela Nacional de Ingenieros.

[8] Carta agronómica. Carte agronomique. Maíz Maïs [below neat line] A. Donamette, Imp. | Gravée chez Monrocq Sc.-Paris. Paris, n.d. [1891]. Title in Spanish and French. Chromolithograph map; neat line to neat line: 71 x 96.5 cm; overall sheet size: 75 x 103 cm. A few splits at folds (no losses), else fine. Color keyed map to corn production in Mexico.

[9] Carta altimétrica. Carte Altimétrique. [below neat line] A. Donamette, Imp. | Gravée chez Monrocq Sc.-Paris. Paris, n.d. [1891]. Title in Spanish and French. Chr omolithograph map; neat line to neat line: 71 x 96.5 cm; overall sheet size: 75 x 103 cm. A few splits at folds (no losses), else fine. Color keyed map to agricult ural zones in Mexico.

Reference: Catalogue of maps of Hispanic America, volume 1, 1864-a.