|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alexis Hubert Jaillot after Nicholas Sanson "Amerique Septentrionale." Paris: A. H. Jaillot, 1694-[1719]. 18 x 25 1/4. Engraving by Cordier. Original outline hand color. Good margins. Strong impression. Stamped "116" in upper left corner. Ref.: McLaughlin, 55, iii.
Jaillot, in re-engraving and publishing the then less widely known work of his compatriot Nicolas Sanson, brought French cartography forward to compete with the hitherto unchallenged work of the Dutch. Sanson's design, which this map is based on, was the first to show all five Great Lakes, and this reflects Sanson's concern to obtain as current information as was available. This map closes the western shores of the Great Lakes. Still, many geographic misconceptions were prevalent at the time, and these are well illustrated here. Most noticeable is the depiction of California as an island, though the north coast of Baha Bay is almost closed and the northern Pacific coast abruptly ends. This configuration shows that the island theory is coming into doubt in Europe. The legendary cities of Cibola and Quivira are still depicted in the interior of the continent. To the north central part of the continent the map gives a strong hint at the existence of a northwest passage out of Hudson's Bay. The depiction of the Mississippi River shows that information used by Delisle in his 1718 map of the continent had not reached the mapmaker. With its attractive cartouches, and curious mixture of accurate and illusionary geography, this is much a map of its time. $2,600
Herman Moll. "To the Right Honourable John Lord Sommers...This Map of North America according to ye Newest and most Exact observations." London: H. Moll, ca. 1715. 22 3/4 x 38. Engraving. Outline color. Full margins. Very good condition.
One of Moll's impressive, very large maps issued at the beginning of the eighteenth century. This map shows North America as it was known at the time. Detail of rivers, lakes, cities, and so forth is excellent. The map is quite accurate in parts, but it is for its myriad geographic myths that the map is most interesting. To the north, Moll is quite conservative in showing the long-sought-for Northwest Passage, indicating that Hudson's Bay did not have an opening to the west and only showing the entrance of the postulated Straits of Anian. Moll is not so accurate in the middle part of the continent, where he shows Baron Lahontan's mythical geography of the Long River and the lake and river of the Mozeemleck Indians. Even more prominently Moll shows California as an island, a cartographic error that lasted over 100 years. These geographic features are nicely complimented by the large, decorative cartouches that appear above the ten inset detail maps. The title cartouche is elaborately drawn showing native Indians including an Eskimo family. Below this is an engraved view of a Cod production plant on Newfoundland. An historically and decoratively wonderful map by one of the leading cartographers of his day. $4,200
Guillaume Delisle. "Carte du Mexique et de la Florida des Terres Angloises..." Amsterdam: Covens & Mortier, 1722. 18 1/4 x 23 1/2. Engraving. Original hand color. Very good condition.
An early Dutch edition of one of the most significant maps by Guillaume Delisle (1675-1726), the leading French cartographer of the eighteenth century and one of the greatest of all time. He is known as the "father of scientific cartography" for his production of maps based upon scientific principles and his role in establishing this as the standard for all cartographers. According to Tooley, "his work was highly rated, not only by his own countrymen, but by the world at large." (Maps and Mapmakers, 43), and he was certainly "the most prominent figure at the beginning of the century." (Ibid.)
With this particular map (appearing initially in 1703), Delisle offered the first relatively accurate charting of the Mississippi Valley, and thus seriously influenced the mapping of the area for over a century to come. His delineation was based on thorough research, taking advantage of information gleaned from the survivors of the La Salle expedition down the Mississippi, as well as from other important reports and explorations. For example, his use of the works of Franquelin, Joliet, and others contributed much to his vastly improved depiction of the Great Lakes. Another of the many important cartographic facts here is his depiction of California as a peninsula. Delisle was one of the first cartographers to correct the misconception of California as an island, his information based on the discoveries of Father Kino in 1698.
Delisle's precise drawing and presentation is further enhanced by the lovely title cartouche in the lower left corner. The face of a deity presides over a ring of symbols of war and abundance. Two idealized native figures flank the title, making symbolic reference to this new untouched country. Another, smaller cartouche in the upper left encases the scales of distance in French, Spanish, and English, an acknowledgment of the three major powers in the delineated area. Altogether a very handsome map and one that is a key document in the history of the mapping of America. $2,600
Johann Baptist Homann after Guillaume Delisle. "Regni Mexicani seu Novae Hispaniae, Ludovicianae, N. Angliae, Carolinae, Virginiae, et Pensylvnaiae." Nuremberg: J.B. Homann, [ca. 1725]. 18 3/4 x 22 1/2. Engraving. Full original color. Some soft creases near centerfold and two tiny worm holes. Very good condition. Martin & Martin: 17. Denver.
A German version of one of the most significant maps by Guillaume Delisle (1675-1726), the leading French cartographer of the eighteenth century and one of the greatest of all time. He is known as the "father of scientific cartography" for his production of maps based upon scientific principles and his role in establishing this as the standard for all cartographers. As Tooley notes, Delisle's work "was highly rated, not only by his own countrymen, but by the world at large" (Maps and Mapmakers, 43). His reliance on firsthand information kept his maps on the cutting edge of cartographic publishing. To produce this map in 1703, Delisle compiled reports from expeditions like La Salle's down the Mississippi River, producing a map that improved greatly on its predecessors, most notably around the Great Lakes. Using information from Father Kino's discoveries of 1698, Delisle became one of the first cartographers to portray California correctly as a peninsula, not an island. With these and other improvements, Delisle offered the first relatively accurate charting of the Mississippi Valley - a cartographic accomplishment that influenced subsequent maps for more than a century.
Given Delisle's reputation, other important European cartographers relied on his map when making their own. Nearly twenty years after its initial publication, Dutch cartographer Pieter Schenk produced his copy, embellishing the original with a German Baroque title cartouche and a naval battle vignette. Using Schenk's version as a base, the German cartographic firm of Johann Baptist Homann made their own version, adding a beautifully narrative vignette of Native/European trade and Native mining. Because Homann's son, Johann Christoph, carried on his work after the elder's death in 1724, it is difficult to date exactly the maps produced under his name. In general, imprints made after 1730 feature labels like "Homann Heirs," "Heredes," "Heretiers," or "Homannischen Erben." With no such designation, this map was likely produced between 1722 (the production date of Schenk's source map) and 1730 (when J.B. Homann's son, Johann Christoph, died). An attractive, detailed map, it exemplifies the best of eighteenth century European cartography and decorative arts. $2,500
John Mitchell. "Amerique Septentrionale avec les Routes, Distances en miles, Villages et Etablissements Francois et Anglois." Paris: G.L. Le Rouge, 1756. Engravings. Eight sheets, each ca. 26 x 18 3/4. Original outline hand color. Full margins. Very good condition. Stephenson: second French edition, first impression.
An early French edition of the historically most significant map of North America, issued just a year after the first British edition. John Mitchell was commissioned by the Earl of Halifax, the president of the Board of Trade and Plantations, to produce a map defining British claims in North America. The resulting document was very much a propaganda statement, arguing for British control of most of the continent. Mitchell shows British claims to their most extreme extent, foreshadowing the future, for just seven years later the French were defeated and the British gained control of the entire eastern half of North America.
Cartographically the map is excellent, for Mitchell gathered as current and precise information as was available to him. He had access to much manuscript and documentary information, all of which he carefully laid down on this huge, detailed map. With its precise cartography and impressive size, this map had an immediate and significant impact when issued. It was universally accepted as the best depiction of North America from its first appearance right through to the end of the century, and from this comes its historic importance. It was used as the primary political document of America, called upon whenever a border dispute came up. When the negotiations to end the Revolution were concluded in Paris in 1783, it was Mitchell's map upon which the border between Canada and the United States was described, and it was used subsequently in numerous border disputes right into the early twentieth century. This map became in effect the 'official' map of North America during the last half of the eighteenth century and even into the nineteenth, as evidenced by the fact that the map hung in Congress in 1802.
This French edition was published by G.L. Le Rouge just a year after the first edition of 1755. This testifies to the impact of this map, for not only was this very quick to issue an accurate re-engraving of such a large map, but it is interesting that the French would publish a map which had such a British bias. Scarce and impressive, this is an historic document of great importance. $24,000
Jean Janvier. "L'Amerique Septentrionale divisée en ses principaux États." Paris: Jean Lattré & J. Thomas, 1762. From Atlas Moderne. 12 x 17 3/4. Engraving. Original outline color. Very good condition. Denver.
Jean Janvier was a French cartographer who worked in Paris in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Among his output were some fine maps which appeared in Jean Lattré's Atlas Moderne. This atlas contained maps of all parts of the world engraved by Lattré, the "Graveur Ordinaire du Roi." Janvier's maps contained the best information available at the time, even though some of it was erroneous. This map of North America is a good example of this, for the information on the coastlines, islands, rivers, major cities is all excellent, yet the map features a large, non-existent lake, "Mer ou Baye De l'Ouest" in the Pacific Northwest. This large lake was a result of the mistaken belief in a Northwest Passage through the interior of the continent, and this depiction is a classic of this cartographic myth. Janvier shows the political division of the colonies of Spain, France and England, interpreted from the French point of view. The map has an elaborate and lovely title cartouche that graces the lower left corner. A wonderful map of America from the period of the French & Indian War. $575
Didier Robert De Vaugondy after Samuel Engel. "Carte des parties nord et ouest de L'Amerique." From Recueil de 10 Cartes Traitant particulierement de l'Amerique du Nord. Paris: D. Robert De Vaugondy, 1774. 11 5/8 x 14 7/8. Engraving. Full margins. Crease in lower left. Overall, very good condition. Denver.
First issued by Didier Robert De Vaugondy in 1764, this map is based on a map that appeared in Samuel Engel's Memoires, which attacked Fonte's imaginary geography. This map gets rid of the Fonte-Fuca fantasy, but adds a number of others. Two water systems are depicted running from the west coast well inland. To the north, in what would be Alaska, two rivers flow from the "Lac des Conibas," a mythical lake which first appeared at the end of the 16th century and which wandered about North America on and off for two hundred years. Another river flows into this lake from the east, and this connects with a series of other lakes ending just beyond a mountain ridge from Lake Superior. This series of lakes represent some knowledge of the Canadian lake system northwest of the Great Lakes, but the river connection to the northwest coast is pure fiction.
The other major non-existent river system is further south, and it is based on the fictional accounts of Baron Lahontan. Lahontan, who did travel in American mid-west, claimed to have talked to some "Moseemlek" Indians who told him of a river arising far to the west and flowing into the Mississippi. This river, appearing on this map, is Lahontan's notorious "Riviere Longue." The Moseemleks said that they lived on another river beyond that which flowed west into a large salt lake on which lived the "Tahuglauks." Robert de Vaugondy shows the villages of the Moseemleks on a river flowing into a large "L. des Tahuglauks," out of which flows the also legendary 'grand river of the west,' which finally empties into the Pacific. Thus, this map puts forward two routes from the Pacific to the Great Lakes, each involving just a short land portage. The appealing notion of a water route from the Pacific to the Atlantic proved a hard one to put to rest!
Another famous American legend also appears on this map, "Grand Quivira." This legend arose from a story heard by Coronado of a rich land that lay somewhere in the interior of North America. The Spanish spent years looking for Quivira, which eventually made its way to the American Pacific coast. In 1670, the French became convinced that Quivira was the western terminus of a waterway across North America, and thus it is shown here, stretching for miles along the California coast. $325
To Contact us, call, write, fax or e-mail to:
8441 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118 USA
(215) 242-4750 [Phone]
(215) 242-6977 [Fax]
PhilaPrint@PhilaPrintShop.com 
©The Philadelphia Print Shop, Ltd. Last updated February 3, 2012
Place Order 