Visitors to the Library of Congress soon will be able to view the first U.S. map printed in North America, thanks to the chairman of the Kennedy Center. David Rubenstein bought the 1784 map for $1.8 million at auction in December, the library announced Monday. The map by Abel Buell is considered the best preserved of the few copies that still exist. The map — called “A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America Layd Down from the Latest Observations and Best Authorities Agreeable to the Peace of 1783” — was published just six months after the Revolutionary War ended. Rubenstein, a co-founder of the D.C.-based private investment firm Carlyle Group, is loaning the map to the library for display.
Rare U.S. map headed to Library of Congress
Published January 31, 2011 5:00am ET
