Description:
When Achsah Hubbard drew this double hemisphere map, she presumably copied a printed source made sometime after 1823. In that year, The United Provinces, shown between Bolivar (i.e., Bolivia) and Patagonia (i.e., Argentina), became a short-lived republic. The world’s political geography as represented by Hubbard may be unfamiliar to many. Guatemala forms most of Central America, Siberia stretches from the Black Sea to the Sea of Okhotsk, and Ethiopia occupies central Africa on her map. Hand-drawn map of the world depicted into two large circles with North and South America on the left side and Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia on the right done in brown ink and watercolor on paper framed with a blue silk ribbons around the outside edges. The map is inscribed "MAP/ OF THE/ WORLD" at the top; "Achsah Hubbard" at the bottom; and "DONE BY ACKSAH HUBBARD / BORN DEC. 15, 1818 / "PLUMTREES' / SUNDERLAND, MA" written on the back of the frame. The daughter of Rufus Hubbard (1779-1858) and Irena (Montague) Hubbard (d.1833) of Sunderland, Massachusetts, Achsah Hubbard (1818-1896) attended an unidentified school where she produced this manuscript map, probably around the age of 13. In 1841 she married Sunderland farmer, Alden Graves (1818-1903). Achsah copied this map from an unidentified map engraved and printed after 1823 and before 1836. In 1826, the “United Provinces” that she indicated between Bolivar (Bolivia) and Patagonia (Argentina) became a short-lived republic, and in 1836, the northern boundary of Mexico that she indicated west of the Louisiana Purchase was redefined when Texas became a republic. Although she could have chosen to copy a rectangular Mercator projection map, she opted for the more aesthetically pleasing double hemisphere format. Suggestive of the round shape of the earth, this format was widely chosen for world geography lessons in grammar school textbooks. Achsah’s concerns were not only for the decorative. She took care to demarcate up-to-date geopolitical boundaries, many of which look unfamiliar today. Guatemala formed most of Central America, Siberia stretched from the Black Sea to the Sea of Okhotsk and Ethiopia occupied central Africa. Her remarkable copy not only reflected her artistic sensibility, but also her concern for accurate, current information. Both boys and girls learned geography in grammar school, using globes and maps to identify historical and biblical places, ocean navigation and trade routes, geopolitics and western exploration. In addition to place names, textbook and wall maps of the world included labels meant to identify cultures. Achsah reproduced one such label commonly printed on textbook maps, “Hottentot,” to identify inhabitants of South Africa. The map was extremely discolored with spots (fly specks and foxing) all over the surface and conserved in Fall 2003 at WAACI.
Label Text:
When Achsah Hubbard drew this double hemisphere map, she presumably copied a printed source made sometime after 1823. In that year, The United Provinces, shown between Bolivar (i.e., Bolivia) and Patagonia (i.e., Argentina), became a short-lived republic. The world’s political geography as represented by Hubbard may be unfamiliar to many. Guatemala forms most of Central America, Siberia stretches from the Black Sea to the Sea of Okhotsk, and Ethiopia occupies central Africa on her map.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2003.23 |
