''Norman's chart of the lower Mississippi River'' is a historically significant map produced in 1858 of landmarks, roads, ferry crossings, and plantations along the course of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

from Natchez to New Orleans. Cotton and sugar plantations are color-coded with distinct colors. The lithographic map is based on cartography by

Marie Adrien Persac Marie Adrien Persac (December 14, 1823 – July 21, 1873) was a French-born American fine art painter, cartographer, photographer, and art teacher. Persac watercolored south Louisiana plantation houses and other aspects of the Southern landscape, ...

. The map was printed by longtime New Orleans bookseller

Benjamin Moore Norman Benjamin Moore Norman (December 22, 1809 – February 1, 1860) was an American book dealer and writer who benefited from the success of John Lloyd Stephens's book, ''Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán''. He was a benefi ...

. As one historian wrote, "At the time Norman's chart was published, the sugar coast stood prominently at the center of political power in Louisiana. Persac's inclusion of planters' names allows the viewer to navigate his chart as a map of concentrated power." Persac sailed the river in a skiff to collect information for the map, stopping frequently to inquire about names of plantations and plantation owners. According to ''Reconstructing the Landscapes of Slavery'' (2021), "It has the effect of a promenade along the river, displaying the bounty of nature transformed into capitalist wealth. This corridor was the nation's leading producer of cotton and sugar and had the densest slave population in the country. It was reputed to be home to more millionaires than anywhere else in the United States."

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* {{Cite web , title=East & West Banks of the Mississippi , url=https://greatriverroadmuseum.org/exhibits/east-and-west-banks-of-the-mississippi/ , website=The Great River Road Museum , language=en-US Maps of the United States Works about American slavery Works about the Mississippi River Geography of Mississippi Geography of Louisiana 19th-century maps and globes

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