The image is entitled, "Co-cum-go-muc Mountains- Bearing from about N 10 degrees W. to North as seen from the Southern end of Co-cum-go-muc-sis Lake, near its outlet into Coo-cum-go-muc Lake (Penobscot waters)."

The Talcott survey, headed by Capt. Andrew Talcott, was sent out to map the northern boundary of Maine after hostilities broke out in 1839 between settlers in the Madawaska region around the St. John River.

Artists who were part of the survey used camera lucida, which used a prism to project an outline of the area onto paper. The artists traced the outline, then completed the drawings.

The original painting is held at the National Archives, Washington, D.C.