Vaugondy, Robert de "Partie de l'Amerique Septentrionale..."[Colonial New England & Mid-Atlantic United States]

Robert de Vaugondy. "Partie de l'Amerique Septentrionale..."[Colonial New England & Mid-Atlantic United States]. A/A

1755. 24.5 x 18.8. Engraving. Matted. Original hand coloring. Centerfold as issued. Otherwise, very good condition. 

A beautifully engraved large-format map depicting the British colonies and surrounding territories between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and the Atlantic Coast. An inset in the upper left extends the coverage southward from Cape Fear through the Carolinas and Georgia to F. St. Georges.

The map is derived from the landmark work of John Mitchell, published in the same year this engraving appeared. Of particular significance is its depiction of the trans-Allegheny frontier, the Great Lakes region, and the interior of New England, incorporating some of the earliest accurate geographic information available from the influential maps of Mitchell, Evans, and Fry & Jefferson.

Especially noteworthy is the detailed treatment of the Forks of the Ohio, the strategic confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, and the location of the French Fort Duquesne, a focal point of conflict during the French and Indian War. The map is further enhanced by an elaborate rococo title cartouche engraved by Marie Catherine Haussard.

This example is the first state of the map, identifiable by the presence of Louisiane along the western frontier and political boundaries that predate the 1763 Treaty of Paris. It was issued in 1757 as part of the first edition and stands as an important cartographic record of North America on the eve of major territorial changes.