Mathew Carey (1760-1839) Irish/American, Reproduction Map of China, Divided into its Great Provinces, according to the Best Authorities. Originally engraved by Mathew Carey in 1796. Shows the reach of the Qing Dynasty shortly after the High Era came to an end.
Condition: Commensurate with age.
Overall Size: 18 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.
Sight Size: 14 x 15 in.
#5030
Mathew Carey was born in 1760 in Dublin, Ireland into a middle-class Catholic family. He entered the bookselling and printing business in 1775, apprenticing with the Hibernian Journal, otherwise known as the Chronicle of Liberty, one the most radical newspapers in the country. Starting in 1777 Carey published pamphlets criticizing dueling, the severity of the Irish penal code, and the Irish Parliament. As a result, the British House of Commons threatened him with prosecution, and Carey fled to Paris in 1781 as a political refugee. There he met Benjamin Franklin, the American ambassador, who saw promise in him and took Carey to work in his printing office. Inspired by Franklin’s advice and encouragement, Carey discreetly returned to Ireland the next year, where he edited two Irish patriot newspapers committed to the cause of parliamentary reform, The Freeman’s Journal and The Volunteer’s Journal. Fearing for his life in 1784 after the attention this brought to him, he emigrated to the newly independent United States. When Carey arrived in Philadelphia Franklin recommended him to Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, who gave him a $400 check to establish himself. He used this to set up a new publishing business and bookshop, founding The Pennsylvania Herald, the Columbian Magazine, and The American Museum, one of the first periodicals in the world that treated American culture as rich and original rather than a poor imitation of Great Britain’s. Sadly, none of these ventures proved profitable, and he turned instead to publishing a Roman Catholic Bible in 48 weekly installments, today popularly known as the Carey Bible. Between 1794 and 1796 Carey published America’s first atlases, followed by regional maps of most of the world, and established a precedent for competing with the powerhouse printers in England by creating an array of associations and connections that allowed for cheaper, more efficient printing in the New World. He frequently wrote articles on various social topics, including critical events during the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. Carey reported on debates in the state legislature as well as providing political commentary in his essays. In December 1798 the chief Federalist paper, the Gazette of the United States, identified Carey as a leading light within the recently formed American Society of United Irishmen. In 1822 Carey published “Essays on Political Economy; or, The Most Certain Means of Promoting the Wealth, Power, Resources, and Happiness of Nations, Applied Particularly to the United States,” one of the first treatises favoring Alexander Hamilton’s protectionist economic policy. The publishing firm evolved to M. Carey & Son (1817-1821), M. Carey & Sons (1821-1824), and then to Carey & Lea (1824). Carey retired in 1825, leaving the publishing business to his son, Henry Charles Carey, and son-in-law Isaac Lea. Throughout his political career in America, Carey supported the development and maintenance of American naval strength, and was a firm advocate for tariffs. Scholars believe that he contributed significantly by his books and publications to the establishment of the United States Whig Party. Carey died on September 16, 1839, and was buried in St. Mary’s Catholic Churchyard in Philadelphia.
Condition
Commensurate with age.
