1769 Isaak Tirion Map of New Orleans

Beautifully engraved New Orleans.

This is an attractive example of Isaak Tirion's 1769 map of New Orleans and the Mississippi River Delta: it is prized as one of the most beautiful 18th-century depictions of the city. Significantly, the map captures New Orleans as the center of Spanish Louisiana during a period of political transition.

A Closer Look

The sheet combines three related maps in a single composition. Occupying the left side of the plate is a plan of New Orleans: it presents the well-planned city center, which corresponds to the modern-day French Quarter, situated along the Mississippi River. The city's bounding canals and grid structure are evident, and many important buildings are recognizable. Others are identified via an alphanumeric key in the upper left. This plan is based upon 1759 Thomas Jeffreys's Plan - whose lineage reaches back through 1744 Jacques Nicholas Bellin's map to the 1720 Jean Leblond de La Tour plan, issued just two years after the city's 1718 founding.

To the right are two maps: these focus on the course of the Mississippi River from Lake Pontchartrain south, and on the delta itself, respectively. These maps contain both land and nautical details, including soundings. The map on the lower right, focusing on the river delta, names Fort Balize. Founded in 1699, Balize was the oldest French settlement in Louisiana.

Spanish Louisiana

In 1769, New Orleans underwent a major political transition as Spanish authority was firmly established over Louisiana. Although France had secretly transferred the colony to Spain in 1762 at the end of the Seven Years' War (1756 - 1763), local French colonists resisted Spanish rule, culminating in a 1768 rebellion that expelled the first Spanish governor, Antonio de Ulloa. In response, Spain sent General Alejandro O'Reilly to restore control; he arrived in New Orleans in August 1769 with a substantial military force. O'Reilly quickly reasserted Spanish authority, arrested and tried the leaders of the rebellion, executing five of them, and reorganized the colony under Spanish law. This moment marked the beginning of a more formal Spanish administration in Louisiana, introducing new legal structures such as the Cabildo (city council) and integrating New Orleans more closely into the Spanish imperial system while the city remained culturally and linguistically French.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved by Tirion as early as 1744 for inclusion in his Nieuwe en Beknopte Hand Atlas. It was also included in the third, posthumous volume of Salmon Thomas's Hedendaagsche historie of Tegenwoordige Staat van Amerika, also published by Tirion in 1769. The pattern of folds visible on the present example is consistent with it having been produced for the latter work. We see 16 examples in institutional collections; the map appears on the market from time to time.

Cartographer

Isaak Tirion (1705 - 1765) was a Dutch publisher in Amsterdam. Born in Utrecht, Tirion quickly rose to prominence by publishing pamphlets, historical works, and most importantly, maps and atlases. He produced several atlases and Dutch town plans. His maps are mainly based on those of Guillaume de l'Isle. Tirion eventually relocated his printing house to the prestigious Kalverstraat. In his long career, he produced eight atlases in multiple editions, some of which were published posthumously until about 1784.   Further Details...

Source

Thomas, S., Hedendaagsche historie of Tegenwoordige Staat van Amerika (Amsterdam: Tirion) 1769.    

Condition

Very good. Reinforced along original fold lines, else excellent.

References

OCLC 5412460, 780102736. Van Ermen, E. , The United States in Old Maps and Prints, #69. Goss, J., The mapping of North America: three centuries of map-making, 1500-1860, #63. Phillips (America) 1196. Boston Public Library, Leventhal Center, G1105 .J4 1768. Library of Congress, G4014.N5 1769 .S2.