First Map of the United States 1784 — Antique Map Print

The story of this map

In the spring of 1784, only months after the Treaty of Paris made American independence official, William McMurray published this map in Philadelphia. McMurray had served as an assistant geographer to the Continental Army, and his map, engraved by Robert Scot, is one of the very first pictures of the United States drawn and printed by Americans for Americans.

What makes it such a good wall map is the sense of a country still being sketched in. The thirteen states along the Atlantic are washed in soft hand colour, while the enormous territory west to the Mississippi sits open and largely empty, with rivers, forts and a scattering of Native nations named across it. A small inset map of North America in the corner sets the young republic in its continent, and the lettering has the slightly uneven charm of early American engraving.

This is a map for anyone who loves the founding era: it belongs above a desk, in a study, a law office, or a hallway of family history. It is the anchor piece of our Antique Maps of US States collection and pairs naturally with the Mitchell map of 1755 that the peace negotiators used to draw these very borders.

Printed to order on archival matte paper, or stretched on canvas, and framed in the country of delivery.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

First Map of the United States, 1784: archive scan compared with the restored print

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Restoration plan: crop scan margins, balance colour cast and levels while keeping the paper tone and the hand colouring, remove library stamps and scanner artefacts if present, gentle sharpening. The Library's copy was conserved in 1977 and scans cleanly. No repainting of original content.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.

Questions

Is this an original antique map?

No. It is a new archival print of a restored high-resolution scan of the 1784 map held by the Library of Congress. We never sell originals.

What is actually printed on this map?

The thirteen states and the western lands ceded to the new nation under the 1783 Treaty of Paris, with the states washed in hand colour, a decorative title, and an inset map of North America in one corner.

How big is the map on the sheet?

The Library of Congress sheet measures about 67 x 96 cm (26 x 38 in), landscape. Our prints run from 12 x 18 in up to 24 x 36 in, and the whole map with a narrow paper margin fits every size.

Does it come framed?

Choose it. Every map comes as an archival matte paper print, a stretched canvas, or framed in black, white or natural oak. Framed prints are made and framed in the country of delivery, ready to hang.

Colours vary between screens and paper. The tone you see here is a close match to the archival matte print; framed prints have no glass glare in these previews.

Pairs well with

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print

Mitchell Map of North America, 1755

John Mitchell · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

Fry-Jefferson Map of Virginia, 1755

Joshua Fry & Peter Jefferson · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

The discount is applied automatically at checkout when two or more framed prints are in the cart.

Size	Metric	Best for
16×12 in	41×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
18×12 in	46×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
20×16 in	51×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×16 in	61×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×18 in	61×46 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
30×20 in	76×51 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
30×24 in	76×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
32×24 in	81×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
36×24 in	91×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
40×30 in	102×76 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
48×32 in	122×81 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

First Map of the United States, 1784

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print