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John Speed. "America with those parts in that unknowne worlde both people and manner of buildings Discribed and inlarged by J.S. Ano. 1626." From A Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World. London: George Humble, [1626]-1627. First state. 15 1/2 x 20 1/5. Engraving by Abraham Goos. With a few light stains. Otherwise, very good condition. English text on verso. Burden: 217 (1).
The rare first state of one of the most decorative and interesting maps of North and South America from the seventeenth century. It was produced by the English cartographer John Speed (1552-1629). Speed is well known for his county maps of Great Britain, but in his Prospect of the World he issued fine maps of other parts of the globe, many of which were decorated with illustrations of native costumes and principal cities of the areas shown. This map of the western hemisphere is the most famous of this type, with views of eight cities in the Americas, as well as ten depictions of natives from the various regions, including the northern, middle and southern parts of the eastern coast of North America.
These superb decorative and historical vignettes provide a perfect frame for Speed's interesting cartographic rendering of the Americas. Considerable detail is shown in South and Central America and the eastern parts of North America, including indications of the Chesapeake, Delaware and Hudson Bays. It is for its depiction of California as an island, however, that this map is particularly famous, for this is the first atlas map upon which this misconception appeared and Speed's depiction of the island was thus a major contributing factor in the longevity of this notorious myth. The final flourishes of the map are the myriad small etched ships, sea monsters and flying fish shown in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Speed's maps were issued uncolored, though most of subsequently been colored by dealers or collectors. This is a rare example of the map as issued, and it is a classic combination of best decorative and historic aspects of antique maps. $8,500
Jan Jansson. "America Septentrionalis." Amsterdam: J. Jansson, [1636]. First state. 18 3/8 x 21 7/8. Engraving. Hand color. Soft creases near centerfold. Else, very good condition.
This is the rare first state of Jansson's desirable map of North America, evidenced by the lack of author ascription in the cartouche in the lower left corner. This decorative map of North America was one of the first Dutch maps to show California as an island. This famous geographical misconception is alleged to have originated from a manuscript map by Father Antonio Ascension, based on his misinterpretation of Juan de la Fuca's and Martin d'Aguilar's reports of their explorations of the California coast. The first depiction of California as an island appeared in 1622 on the title page of Antonio de Herrera's Descripcion de las Indias Occidentales. The first folio maps to show this myth were Abraham Goos' in 1624 and Henry Briggs' in 1625. However, it was not until the more important Dutch publishers had accepted the insularity of California that this notion achieved universal acceptance. This notorious error remained the standard until well into the 18th century, and it wasn't until Ferdinand VII's decree that California was not an island that the isle image finally disappeared from the cartographic world. Jansson was the first of the major Dutch cartographers to accept the idea that California was an island, and it was the influence of this map that finally established this mistake as an accepted "truth."
This map has considerable interest for much besides the history of California as an island, for it depicts many other fascinating features in the story of the mapping of North America in the seventeenth century. In the north of the continent, current information is given of the state of exploration in the Hudson Bay area. The Mississippi is shown as a network of several rivers, cut off from the northern part of the continent by a non-existent ridge of mountains running west from Virginia. The depiction of the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes is quite unusual, and was borrowed from Champlain's map of 1613. Within a just a few years of the publication of Jansson's map, Sanson-a French cartographer-would show all five Great Lakes, but Jansson shows but a single large one. It is interesting to note that in the same atlas in which this map appeared, Jansson issued a map of New England which also showed one lake, but one of quite different appearance. It may be that Jansson was trying to hedge his bet on the shape of the Great Lake, but more likely he used different sources for the two maps and didn't feel it was his responsibility to reconcile the contrasting delineations. Aesthetically Jansson's map is a gem, with two lovely cartouches, numerous illustrations of American fauna dotted across the continent, and a number of sailing ships and sea monsters in the surrounding oceans. All in all, a map worthy of any fine collection of American maps. $7,500
Willem Janszoon Blaeu. "Nova Belgica et Anglia Nova." Amsterdam: W.J. Blaeu, [1635]-1640-43. 15 1/4 x 19 7/8. Engraving. Original hand color. Full margins. Very good condition. Framed. Burden: 241; McCorkle: 635.1.
One of the most sought-after and decorative maps of present-day New England, a gem by Willem (Guilielmus) Janszoon Blaeu. The maps issued by the Blaeu firm are known for their fine engraving, coloring, and design, and have been called "the highest expression of Dutch cartographical art." This spectacular map of New England is typical of the work of Willem Blaeu, with an up-to-date topographical depiction as well as decorative elements throughout. The cartographic detail is based on a manuscript map by Dutch trader, Adriaen Block, as well as on printed maps by de Laet and Champlain. The anthropological information was derived from John White's illustrations that had been published in Frankfort by Theodore De Bry, and the depictions of animals are some of the earliest for these particular species to appear in Europe. The decorative features continue within the map area, with numerous sailing ships, putti holding the scale of distance, and superb calligraphy. Great interest comes from its orientation, which is to the West. With its intricate flourishes, and fascinating ethnological and historical detail, this is a superb item of seventeenth century art and cartographic knowledge. $6,200
Guillaume Sanson after Nicolas Sanson. "Amerique Septentrionale." Paris: Pierre Mariette, 1669. 15 1/2 x 22. Engraving. Outline hand color. Full margins. Very good condition.
Nicolas Sanson, known as the 'father of French cartography,' is one of the great figures in the history of cartography. Beginning his mapmaking career at the age of 18, Sanson went on to be appointed the first geographer-royal to Louis XIII of France (1640). Due to his royal position Sanson had access to the official French records of the explorations in the New World and used this information to establish himself at the forefront of the mapping of the Americas. Following the expeditions of Champlain in the 1620s, a new picture came to Europe of the interior of North America. Sanson was the first to compile this information, from Champlain and the Jesuits that followed him, into an depiction that included all five Great Lakes.
That depiction appeared in Sanson's 1650 map of North America, which was issued for about two decades. Nicolas Sanson died in 1667, at which time his atlas was under the direction of his son Guillaume. In 1669, Guillaume, in conjunction with Pierre Mariette, issued a replacement version of his father's seminal map of North America. By that time the original map was considered out of date, so Guillaume produced an updated atlas version of Nicolas's wall map of 1666. The map contains an improved picture of the continent from the first version, though it still has many of its charming errors and lacunae. All fiver Great Lakes are shown, but the western parts are still left blank, as is the entire northwestern part of the continent. The large mountain range running across the central part still blocks any possible correct depiction of the Mississippi River, and California is still shown as an island, though in an "improved" depiction. The cartouche has been moved from the top right to the top left, and a interesting vignette of cannibalism has been added. $3,500
John Thornton. "A Chart of the Sea Coast of New Found Land, New Scotland, New England, New York, New Jersey, with Virginia and Maryland." From The English Pilot. London: W. Mount & T. Page, [1698]. First state. 17 1/2 x 22 1/2. Engraving. Outline hand color. Very good condition. McCorkle: 698.6; Seelers and Van Ee: 199.
A striking sea chart of Northeastern America from the English Pilot. This English collection of sea charts was first put together by John Seller, who was Hydrographer to both Charles II and James II and a prominent nautical mapmaker and publisher in London in the latter half of the seventeenth century. His English Pilot was a very ambitious project, being the first attempt by an Englishman to compete with the dominant Dutch sea atlases, led by Waghenaer's Mariner's Mirror. This project was, however, successful with the publication continuing from 1671 until 1803. The work passed from Seller to John Thornton and William Mount, and then on to Mount and Thomas Page, who published this particular chart near the end of the seventeenth century.
The chart extends from the Chesapeake Bay to New Foundland and the St. Lawrence River. This was essentially the extent of the British colonies in North America at the time and at the end of the seventeenth century this chart would have provided the best information on the coastline of the region for the many ships sailing from Great Britain to one of the colonies. The coastline is drawn with impressive detail and including the mouths of many rivers. Soundings are noted throughout, especially along the major approaches to sea ports. Amongst those ports shown are Philadelphia, New York, New London, and Boston. Besides its historic interest, the map is also a decorative gem. Two compass roses are the focus of a network of radiating rhumb lines and handsome outline color provides indication of the different British colonies. This is a fine example of the rare first state of this map, before it was reengraved in 1749. $2,800
Pierre Mortier. "Carte Nouvelle De L'Amerique Angloise Contenant La Virginie, Mary-Land, Caroline, Pensylvania Nouvelle Iorck, N: Iarsey N: France, et Les Terres Nouvellement Decouerte. Amsterdam: P. Mortier, 1698(?). 23 1/4 x 35 3/4. Engraving. Excellent, original hand color. Excellent condition.
A striking, large sized map of the eastern part of North America, allegedly derived by Mortier from the work of Nicolas Sanson, though there is no evidence other than the title attribution that this geographical conception was ever held by Sanson. This map is wonderful in its illustration of the various geographic misconceptions of the late seventeenth century. Interestingly, it is one of the few maps to show the Mississippi River entering the western end of the Gulf instead in the middle as it actually does. This feature appeared on maps for only about 30 years, the result of a hoax perpetrated by La Salle in an attempt to make a settlement at the mouth of the river look strategically important-in being near to the Spanish ports in Mexico-thus lending added weight to his plan of developing a French Empire along the great North American inland waterways. Also shown are 'Ashley Lake,' the 'Savana,' and the 'Desert Arenosa,' the three notorious errors derived from the reports of John Lederer.
There are myriad other interesting geographic oddities of the period which appear on the map, especially in the mid-west region. The Great Lakes are depicted essentially the same as on the map of 'the English Empire' by Robert Morden, 1695(?), and these two maps are the first to show one of the most mysterious geographic mistakes in the mapping of America, viz. the prominently illustrated mountain range running through the Michigan peninsula and down all the way into Florida. While the connection of the Michigan chain with Florida was soon severed, the mountains in the peninsula appeared on maps even into the nineteenth century. The origin of this chain is still a puzzle that continues to baffle cartographic scholars. All in all, a fascinating document showing the state of 'knowledge' of North America at the end of the seventeenth century. $4,800
Pierre Mortier. "Carte Nouvelle De L'Amerique Angloise..." Amsterdam: P. Mortier, 1698(?). 23 3/8 x 18 1/4. Line engraving. Hand color. Some soft creases. Top right corner of margin chipped off. Otherwise, very good condition.
A single sheet version of the Mortier map above, lacking the right sheet of eastern Canada. Shows most of what is today the eastern part of the United States. $2,850
Sutton Nicholls. "A New Map of the most Considerable Plantations of the English In America Dedicated to His Highness William Duke of Glocester." Oxford: E. Wells, 1700. 14 x 19. Engraving by Sutton Nicholls. Some flattened old creases and repaired tear in top margin. Very good condition.
An attractive map of the "English Plantations" in America from Wells' New Set of Maps both of Ancient and Present Geography. This atlas was issued by Wells for Oxford University students, which explains the clarity of the lettering and the lack of distracting, non-essential decorative features. The map was drawn and engraved by Sutton Nicholls, a well-known British draughtsman and engraver. The map shows the British colonies in North American from Maine to the Chesapeake Bay, with insets of the coast further south and north, showing the Carolinas and Nova Scotia, as well as insets of the important British islands of Jamaica, Barbados and Bermuda. For the students, Wells shows the political divisions clearly throughout and names the important settlements and rivers. At the time this map was issued, the British had secured their control of the entire eastern seaboard north of Florida and this map reflects that situation very clearly. It is fascinating to think that if one were a student at the turn of the century, this map reflects what one would be expected to know about the British colonies to the west, colonies which over the next century would be enlarged and then mostly lost. $2,750
A. H. Jaillot. "Carte Particulaire de Virginie, Maryland, Pennsilvanie, La Nouvelle Iarsey Orient et Occidentale." Amsterdam: Pierre Mortier, 1700. 20 x 31. Engraving. Original hand color. Wide margins. Light scattered spots. Overall, very good condition. Framed. [Note picture is through glass of frame.]
An attractive, large scale sea chart of the area around the Chesapeake Bay from Norfolk to New York. The son of French parents, Mortier was born in France but lived and worked in Amsterdam (1661-1722). A bookseller and publisher from about 1685, he entered into the map-trade in 1690 and soon became known as a publisher of some of the finest maps of the period. Though there is no definite attribution, this map was derived by Jaillot from the work of two Englishman, William Fisher and John Thornton. These two men published in 1689 what was to become for over one hundred years, a virtually unaltered sailing chart of the Chesapeake area. This map improved upon earlier maps showing greater detail of soundings, sand bars, and new place names, especially along the Virginia coast, that was not previously known. This map was, therefore, one of the most accurate of its time.
This map is a sea chart that was part of Mortier's Le Neptune Francois, and it has a western orientation, as this is the way one would see the land as one sailed towards it from Europe. The map shows the coastline from below Cape Henry to Staten Island, naming nearly every creek and inlet along these coasts. Interesting details of this map include the presence of sand bars and a "sunken marais [marsh]" off-shore of Staten Island (no Manhattan shown); the wealth of detail throughout the Chesapeake Bay; the amount of settlement along the James and York Rivers; and the recognition of Philadelphia as the only city of any substance. The rose compasses and rhumb lines along with the hand coloring, make the map very attractive. Unusually large for a sea chart, the map was obviously intended as something of a showpiece. Decoratively and historically a show-stopper. $8,500
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