Gothaischer hof Kalender zum Nutzen u. Vergnungen auf das Jahr 1795.

CONTAINS THE FIRST PLAN OF WASHINGTON D.C. PUBLISHED IN EUROPE

First edition. Folding map "Plan de ville de Washington en Amérique" (plate mark 160 by 198mm) J.G. Kinger & Weidner, Nov. 1794, frontispiece and engraved title-page, 2 etched and 1 engraved portraits, 13 plates, 2 typographic folding tables (one printed on both sides of the leaf). 16mo. Contemporary glazed marbled card wrappers with blind rules and ornaments to boards. A.e.g. Slight cracking to spine, but still sound; corners a little bumped but in all a very good copy. [58], 106, 119, [3], [24]pp. Gotha, C.W. Ettinger,

A rare pocket-sized almanac produced for the European elite, containing the first plan of Washington D.C. to be published outside of the U.S.A. 

 

In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, George Washington designated a site on the Potomac river for the future American federal capital, with an Act of Congress signed 16th July 1790. Rather than cede primacy to either New York or Philadelphia, the decision to start afresh with a new capital city also allowed for ambitious infrastructural planning. Initially employing American engineer Major Andrew Ellicott to survey the land and lay boundaries, Jefferson also enlisted the services of French engineer Pierre Charles l'Enfant. With the direction to draw from the grandeur of several European cities, l'Enfant's continental flavour can be seen carried through in many of Washington D.C.'s most spectacular architectural features. L'Enfant himself though was a contentious character, ultimately dismissed by Washington in 1792. Ellicott replaced him and is responsible for the final manuscript draft of the city's plan, now housed in the Library of Congress. 

 

The first printed version of Ellicott's plan was a small insert in March 1792 edition of The Universal Asylum & Columbian Museum. This smaller reproduction was engraved as a stopgap whilst the Philadelphia firm of James Thackara and John Vallance worked on the larger separately issued sheet, which came out in November 1792. In between these two publications, Samuel Hill of Boston also issued his own version in two similar sizes. 

 

These plans were circulated widely both within the United States and overseas, with the intention of stimulating interest and investment in the new federal capital. The present version is the first recorded printing outside of the U.S.A. It's inclusion in a bijou almanac of this sort would have perfectly positioned it to attract the attention of wealthy French and German potential investors. The almanac also includes a textual description of the city at pp.95-98 of the second part. This plan appeared in both the French and German language versions of the Ettinger almanac for the year 1795. The delicate map is clearly derivative of, though does not name, l'Enfant and Ellicott. The key includes "le Capitol", "Palais du Président", "la Bourse", "Magazin et Arsénal", "Statue du Washington" as well as the four "Rues du Capitole" in the four cardinal points. The further districts of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Georgetown are also shown, as are the states of Virginia and Maryland below the Potomac River. The city would not become the effective seat of government until 1800, so this plan was part of an elaborate advertising scheme for the young capital. Of the features identified in the key, some like the White House and the layout of the Mall are recognisable as the grand edifices of the city as we know it today, whereas others, like the Stock Exchange were projected but never realised. 

 

This book is rare. OCLC finds one copy only of the French edition at the Clements Library in Michigan. 

 

Ashley Baynton-Williams in MapForum, Issue 12, 'Plans of Washington D.C. 1792 - 1800' checklist no. 11 (mapforum.com/12/12issue.htm); Verner, 11; Phillips: Maps, p.1005.

.

Stock Code: 233267