ABEL BUELL'S 1784 MAP OF THE UNITED STATES

It's not numismatic and it's not a book but this may be of interest to a number of numismatists and bibliophiles due to Abel Buell's role as an engraver of dies for coppers during the 1780s.

The Connecticut Historical Society, which houses one of seven copies of his 1784 map of the United States, has recently gotten a grant for curating their map collection. This will include putting images of many online. See: www.yourpublicmedia.org/content/connecticut-historical-society/
uncommonly-ingenious-mechanic Until CHS posts good images, here's an auction lot description with high resolution (but slow-loading) images: http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5382260 . By the way, the NJHS copy sold in 2010 was bought by a private collector, David Rubenstein, who has lent it to the Library of Congress to exhibit it for five years. Given that it represents about 0.1% of his net worth, one can hope that he eventually donates it to LOC which would be a fitting home for it.

www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/buellmap.html
www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/1103/maps.html

For those interested in maps, another private collector with a significant collection, though he doesn't own a Buell 1784 map (Rubenstein owns the only one known in private hands) has put his wonderful collection online: www.davidrumsey.com. In addition to displaying many wonderful maps, his site shows the use of some innovative image display software.

Wayne Homren, Editor

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