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Rigobert Bonne. "Les États Unis de l'Amérique Septentrionale, Partie Orientale." Paris, ca. 1770s. 13 1/2 x 9 1/4 plus full margins. No. 117 from an atlas. Engraving by André. Very good condition.
Rigobert Bonne (1727-95) was the Royal Hydrographer of France, so his primary interest was in marine charts. However, with his Royal connections and access to the cartographic documents in Paris, Bonne was able to compile maps containing some of the most up-to-date information of his time. This map is a good example of his work, including precisely drawn coastal profiles and details, and considerable inland information on orography, rivers, towns, and political boundaries. $250
Samuel Holland. "The Provinces of New York, and New Jersey; with part of Pensilvania, and the Governments of Trois Rivieres and Montreal." London: R. Sayer & T. Jefferys, 1775. Separately issued "saddle bag" map: dissected into 16 sections, newly backed onto buckram and folded into modern, hand-made carry case. 54 x 21 1/4. Original outline hand color. Paper age toned and with a few chips and stains. Overall, very good condition. Stevens & Tree, 44b.
An unusual, elongated map by Capt. Samuel Holland, the first Surveyor General for the Northern District of British North America. It shows from the entrance of the Delaware Bay to Quebec, with special emphasis on eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and both sides of the Hudson River, up Lake Champlain and then up the Richelieu River to the Saint Lawrance. Holland was a Dutch military engineer in the British army and a fine draftsman; he was appointed by the King as the first Surveyor General for the northern region. It contains impressive detail of towns, roads, rivers and mountains. In the lower right corner is an especially fine title cartouche depicting a scene of the Hudson River at the `Topan Sea' (present-day Tapanzee). This view was taken from Thomas Pownall's print published in the Scenographia Americana, with the cliff face used for the title information. This is a excellent example of an important American map. $5,200
Antonio Zatta. "Nuove Scoperte De' Russi al Nord del Mare del Sud si nell'Asia, che nell'America." Venice: A. Zatta, 1776. 11 7/8 x 15 3/8. Engraving. Original hand color. Framed. Denver.
A very decorative map of the northwestern part of the American continent, as well as the northeastern part of Asia, published in Venice by Antonio Zatta in the late 18th century. This map is of particular interest for its mistaken depiction of the long sought 'Northwest Passage' leading from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The rending here is based on that of Joseph Nicholas Delisle, whose 1752 map accepted the fictional account of Admiral Bartholemew de Fonte. This account was a hoax that appeared in a British magazine in 1708, telling of how this fictional admiral, sailing into a series of rivers and bays in the Columbia River region, met a ship which had sailed there from Hudson's Bay. While simply a hoax perpetrated by the editor of the magazine, James Petiver, it was accepted as fact by Delisle and so appeared on a number of maps, including this one.
Zatta used Delisle's geography based on Russian explorations as well as other sources, and his map is a speculative combination of few accuracies and many mistakes. Alaska, for instance, is shown as a group of islands off the Russian coast, and for good measure, the mythical "rivers of the west" are shown flowing from a large inland sea (Great Salt Lake) all the way to the Pacific. More mythical features include the non-existent land of Quivira, and the supposed colony of 5th century Chinese, "Fou-Sang," near the Columbia River. This "picturesque" geography is nicely matched by a decorative cartouche showing animals not really found in the region, a crocodile, an elephant, an ostrich and a rhinoceros! A most decorative and fascinating mapping of America. $1,100
De Sartine. "Carte Réduite Des Côtes Orientales De L'Amérique Septentrionale Contenant Partie du Nouveau Jersey, la Pensylvanie, le Mary-land, la Virginie, la Caroline Septentrionale, la Caroline Méridionale et la Georgie." Paris: Depot de la Marine, 1778. Engraving. 23 x 34 (full sheet). Full margins. Two small repairs in top margin touching into top neatline. Else fine condition.
This map was issued at the time of the American Revolution, into which the French were then entangled. It was prepared for the very rare French atlas Neptune America-Septentrional and was issued both in that atlas and as a separate map for "Prix Trois Livres." The map would have been in use by the French navy and merchant marine and it would have been used with great effect by the combatants. The map extends from the Delaware Bay to the St. John River in Florida, a main area of concern for the French navy, as the British military action late in the war was focused on this area. Detail of the coast is very precise and detailed, with soundings, islands, bays, towns, and so forth all indicated. Somewhat surprising for a sea chart, the map has superb detail inland as far as the Appalachian Range. Roads, plantations, chapels, forts, fords, topography, rivers, and much else is shown with exquisite exactness. This was probably because the charts were intended to be useable not just by the naval forces, but also by French troops who might be landed in the conflict.
Of note is the indication of "York" on the York River, also known as Yorktown, which soon after this map was issued was the scene of the French naval blockade which was the immediate cause of the surrender of Cornwallis and the end of the Revolution. It was not unlikely on another copy of this chart that the French Admiral De Grasse consulted as he planned his operations against the British fleet in North America. To examine and hold such a historical document, one which gives us a privileged, contemporary view of the American Revolution is a thrill indeed. $3,200
Joshua Fisher. "Carte de la Baye et Riviere de Delaware." And "Par Ordre de M. de Sartine." Paris: Depot de la Marine, 1778. 23 x 16 1/2 (neat lines). Engraving. Full margins on three sides, but with right margin expertly replaced. Hand color. Snyder: 265f. Delicate French engraving accommodates the map with instructions for mariners.
The first chart of the Delaware Bay was made in 1756 by Joshua Fisher, a former hatter from Lewes. It showed the lower part of the bay and was intended to be used as a navigational aid for ships sailing toward Philadelphia. In 1775, Fisher produced an expanded chart that showed the bay and the Delaware River to just beyond Philadelphia. This was the most important map of the bay and river in the eighteenth century, and it went through many different versions, of which this is the second French version. The French army and navy would have used this map during the American Revolution. The map is oriented to the north so that Philadelphia lies at the top, and Cape May at the right and "Hinlopen" at the bottom margin. $1,100
Go to other maps of the American Revolution
Antonio Zatta. "Il Paese De Selvaggi Outagamiani, Mascoutensi, Illinesi, e parte delle VI Nazioni." Venice: A. Zatta, 1778. 12 1/2 x 16 3/4. Engraving. Original outline color. Very good condition.
Part IV from Zatta's twelve sheet map of North America based upon Mitchell's multi-sheet map from the mid-eighteenth century. Mitchell's map was a seminal document in the history of the mapping of North America, and thus there was a great demand for its information. Zatta issued his version in order to help meet that demand, and like Mitchell's original, Zatta's map is filled with current, detailed, and fascinating cartography. This sheet is one of the most interesting, being one of the first to focus just on the wilderness area to the west and southwest of Lake Michigan. This is one of the earliest regional maps to show much detail of any part of the far interior of North America, especially of the upper mid-West. The data was received from trappers, settlers, explorers, and soldiers who mostly traveled by water, and thus it is that the most accurate and detailed information is of lakes and rivers, and of the areas along their banks and shores. Zatta includes details of the locations of Indian tribes, settlements, trade routes, and frontier forts. This is a wonderful, close-up look at the region at the beginning of the American Revolution. $750
Other sheets from Zatta's series of American maps:
This section shows the trans-Appalachian region in Kentucky, Tennessee and across the Mississippi. Also shown are southern Ohio and Indiana. Much information is given of the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri Rivers as well as details about mines and about English, French and Indian settlements in the area. $600
This sheet shows the east coast from Cape Fear to Saint Augustine, giving excellent detail mostly along the coast, but as far inland as Augusta. Detail includes rivers, roads, towns, forts and Indian settlements. $500
The Atlantic Nepture is one of the most important atlases of North America ever published, produced by J.F.W. DesBarres to provide a careful charting of the waters along the British colonies in North America. This is a chart from that atlas, of the Delaware River to as far as Philadelphia in two panels. As stated on the chart, it was "Composed and Published for the use of Pilotage by J.F. W. DesBarres Esqr," so the focus of detail is on the nature of the river itself. The coastline, mouths of creeks, shoals and sand bars, and soundings are shown with careful precision, and rhumb lines are used to help with navigation of a ship up this relatively narrow river. Inland information is sparse because it is limited to that which was visible sight from navigable waters. An occasional higher elevation is shown and a basic town plans for New Castle, Chester, and Philadelphia are present. Conventional symbols for swamps and waterways are shown for as much as a few miles inland in places. It is one of the rarest and finest charts of the Delaware from any period. $4,750
Go to page three of 18th century American regional maps
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