The Seat of War: Birds Eye View of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia

New York: [W. Schaus; printed by Sarony, Major & Knapp], 1861. Second Edition. 59 x 76cm open. 19.5x19cm closed. Tinted lithographic map backed in brown silk, in black slipcase, with printed paper label. Bookseller's ticket of Rev. A. O. Brickman, Baltimore. Two ownership inscriptions of "J. M. Deems, Maj., 1st MD Cav" and inscribed "Deems" on the slipcase. Trimmed; splits along half of one horizontal fold; minor stains and discoloration to verso, not affecting image, which is bright and generally Very Good. Hand-made slipcase worn, with portion cut out, but with manuscript ownership label intact.

Uncommon Civil War map used by a distinguished Union Army officer. James Monroe Deems (1818-1901) was a composer and music educator from Baltimore who secured a commission as a major in 1861. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in spring 1863; led the First Maryland Cavalry during the Battle of Gettysburg; retired due to rheumatism in November 1863; and was brevetted Brigadier General in 1867. He likely acquired this map in Baltimore near the beginning of his military career, and certainly before his promotion in 1863 (given the use of "Maj." in his ownership inscriptions).

The map itself is the second edition of this design by J. Schedler (despite the title, it is not a bird's-eye view). The more common first edition has two insets, showing the Lower Mississippi Valley and the city of Richmond (see Stephenson 17.3). This version has only one inset, showing the eastern United States. Stephenson describes this edition as having a Washington, DC bookseller's ticket; the present copy has a Baltimore bookseller's ticket instead.

This copy was mounted for use in the field: it was trimmed down to the neatline, the captions removed, the image cut up into segments, and mounted on linen. The printed label on the slipcase appears to be a portion of the original title. This may have been done by the bookseller, Brickman, possibly at Deems' request.

Uncommon. OCLC records about 10 similarly titled maps, but few listings distinguish between the first and second editions. STEPHENSON LC Civil War Maps (2nd ed), 17.35. [61812].