Virginia - West Virginia (sold)

A superb example, entirely complete, of Christopher Colles' 1789 - 1790 A Survey of the Roads of the United States of America. This is the First American Road atlas, wherein at least some of the plates represent the first American maps engraved by a female - Colles' 13-year-old daughter Eliza. Covering depictions from Albany, New York to Williamsburg, Virginia, Colles' atlas consists of a prospectus, a title page, and 83 separate strip maps, each covering some 12 miles of roads and offering invaluable detail about the natural and human landscape of late 18th-century America, and was published in commemoration of the founding of the new republic in 1789. (more details)

A seminal chart, this is a superb 1661 example of Sir Robert Dudley's 1647 maritime map of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and the Carolina Sounds. In its first edition, this was the first printed nautical chart of that region. As per the title, the chart depicts the coasts of 'Old and New Virginia,' meaning the colonial efforts of Sir Walter Raleigh and the Jamestown Colony, respectively. Due to the Virginia Colony's importance to the English, Dudley's chart focuses more sharply on the region than on his other North American charts. (more details)

Known as 'The Arnold Map', this is the most important Civil War era map of Washington D.C. and vicinity. This map was issued by Edward Greene 'Aloha Vivarttas' Arnold and G. W. Colton in 1862, just after the Second Battle of Bull Run. Centered on the White House, the map illustrates the 'original' ten-mile-square diamond-shaped land allocation set aside for the District of Columbia. As a cartographic piece, Arnold's map exceeded in quality all previous maps of the region, noting roads, canals, turnpikes, railroads, and mills, as well offering a meticulous presentation of topography. Significantly, it illustrates the 51 fortifications, army hospitals, and dozens of small batteries - all critical wartime reconnaissance. (more details)

This is Andrew Ellicott's seminal 1792 official large format plan or map of Washington D.C., which would become, 8 years later, the capital of the United States. This is the grandest, most beautiful, and most important official founding plan of Washington D.C. The map illustrates the original urban layout of Washington D.C, then only a small part of the District of Colombia. Centered on the confluence of the Potomac and the Eastern Branch (Anacostia) Rivers, the map covers the Washington D.C. grid as far north as W Street. It also includes the older nearby city of Georgetown. (more details)

This is the monumental 1775 Fry/Jefferson map of Virginia and Maryland, the most important colonial map of Virginia, in its original four-sheet English version. Drawn by Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson in 1751 and first printed in 1753, this was the first accurate survey of the interior of Virginia. It was the first printed map to approximate the parallel ridges and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains, and the first to accurately depict the Blue Ridge Mountains. Following the revision of the map in 1755, this was the first map to include Virginia's road system, also marking routes used by frontier traders and Native Americans. Following that revision, it contained the best mapping of the Upper Ohio Valley and the Virginia frontier produced during the French and Indian War (1754 - 1763) and remained the prototype for all subsequent maps of Virginia until the 19th century. As both Fry and Jefferson were denizens of the colony, this further represents the first map of Virginia produced by Virginians. (more details)

A 1778 first edition American Revolutionary War era map of the northeastern United States by J. B. Elliot, considered to be of extreme significance. This is generally regarded as the earliest map to use the name 'United States', or in this case, 'Etats Unis'. Drawing on previously unused sources, Eliot's map illustrates the events of the Revolutionary War contemporaneously with the action, making it, essentially a living account of the War of Independence. Margaret Pritchard and Henry Taliaferro, published an essay on this map in Degrees of Latitude, Map 58, describing its significance in great detail, of which this is a short excerpt,

The map of the theater of war between Great Britain and America by J.B. Eliot is important because of its title, Les Treize Colonies Unies de l'Amerique Septentrionale, may include the first reference on a map to the United States. The cartographer was identified as Ingenieurs des Etats Unis. On November 15, 1777, the Continental Congress selected 'The United States of America,' as the name of the thirteen colonies that formed a government under the Articles of Confederation. One month later, French authorities learned of the victory at Saratoga and decided to recognize American independence. By January 8, French foreign minister, Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, informed American envoys that France was ready to engage in an alliance. It is not surprising that the name United States was first mentioned on a map published in Paris in 1778.

… It is also curious that he did not indicate on the map the general's 1777 winter headquarters at Valley Forge, misspelled Walay Forge. What Eliot did illustrate were the lines' march taken by the British and American forces during the campaign in 1777, including Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Ledger's unsuccessful diversionary expedition down the Mohawk Valley, Burgoyne's march from Crown Point to Albany, and Howe's campaign to take Philadelphia.

… As was usually the case, Eliot appears to have borrowed from several sources in compiling the geography. Some areas were designated by French place-names while others are predominantly English, specifically in the northwestern territories that the French knew best. It is clear they were aware of the latest intelligence relating to the Revolutionary War.

A decorative cartouche in the lower right incorporates a battle scene wherein British soldiers bombard a small town - possibly Valley Forge? (more details)

This is the 1661 edition of Robert Dudley's general map of the east coast of North America. According to Burden, this is the 'first printed sea chart of North America by an Englishman and the first to record soundings.' It is a great rarity on the market and a keystone map for any collection of early American cartography. (more details)

This is John White's 1590 map of the first Virginia colony. It is one of the first maps of any part of the modern-day United States, and the first map of a settled area produced by a colonist. Specifically, it is the first map to result from England's efforts to colonize North America. It is the earliest map available to the collector of Virginia and North Carolina, and it is the first map to name Chesapeake Bay. It is among the most influential early Americas maps, the traces of which are found on maps for decades to follow. (more details)

This is a rare 1777 Jean-Baptiste Jacques de Beaurain map of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, issued in anticipation of French entry into the war on the side of the revolutionaries. The map includes a bold illustration of the goddess Ossa (fame) unrolling an expansive map of the Theater of War in the Hudson corridor, proclaiming the newly formed United States. Mars, the god of War, looks on, shield and torch in hand, his arsenal ready - much like France itself. This map is thus an instrument of propaganda intended to prepare the public for French participation in the American Revolution - an event which followed in early 1778. (more details)

A map of extreme importance, this is a fine example of Nicholaas Visscher's 1684 Novi Belgii or map of New York, New England, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. This is the first map in the Jansson-Visscher Series here presented in its 4th state (Burden, 315). Like most ... (more details)

A map of extreme importance, this is a fine example of Nicholaas Visscher's 1684 Novi Belgii or map of New York, New England, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. This is the first map in the Jansson-Visscher Series here presented in its 4th state (Burden, 315). Like most ... (more details)

A fine example of Mark Catesby’s rare 1743 / 1771 map of the southeastern parts of North America. This map is considered one of the finest maps of the colonial era American southeast. The map covers from the Mississippi River and from Cape Charles and Cape Henry to Jamaica, including all of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Bahamas, Porto Rico, and parts of the Yucatan. Among other features, the map is notable for its remarkable cartouche design, which includes shells, corals, and seaweeds indigenous to the Americas. The map is furthermore an important reference for early forts, Indian tribes, English factories, and more in the southeast. The river systems of Georgia and Carolina are particularly impressive in their detail. (more details)

This is the 1671 John Ogilby second edition of the 1635 Lord Baltimore map of the Chesapeake Bay - considered the first map of Maryland. Although based on the 1635 map, this Ogilby edition is no slavish copy and includes unique and significant cartography not found elsewhere. It was issued to promote British colonization of Maryland and includes a wealth of unique, relevant detail, including new town sites, ten new county designations, and more defined borders. By all reports, it was successful, with nearly 25,000 English settlers moving to Maryland by 1681. (more details)

A scarce, important, and highly desirable 1852 nautical chart or maritime map of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays by Fielding Lucas Jr. This chart covers the entirety of the Chesapeake Bay from Wrightsville (on the Susquehanna River) and Philadelphia (on the ... (more details)

This is a rare 1864 geographical atlas by Marinda Branson Moore prepared for Confederate children. Published during the American Civil War (1861 - 1865), the work only maps the Confederate States and contains historically relevant, if racially offensive, text critical of the Union. The work, as expressed by historians O. L. Davis, Jr. and Serena Rankin Parks, addresses the concerns of Southern schoolteachers who saw existing published textbooks as 'blighted with by Yankee biases and inaccuracies.' (more details)

A striking original color 1666 Pieter Goos nautical chart or maritime map of New England, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. Coverage follows the coast of North America from Boston Harbor to Cape Hatteras, thus embracing one of the more active mid-17th century maritime corridors in North America. At the center of the map, two Dutch ships ply the seas. Finely engraved decorative cartouche work in the upper left and lower right emphasizes the region's rich fur trade and abundant fisheries. (more details)

An attractive old color example of Justus Danckerts' 1684 Novi Belgii or map of New York, New England, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Some call this the 'farm animal map' for its novel incorporation of farm animals, ranging from horses and cows to chicken and ... (more details)

This is Nicolas Visscher II's 1696 two-sheet map of the North American eastern seaboard and the Canadian Maritimes, in a beautiful example of its earliest acquirable state with rich original color. It represents the 17th century's most finely-detailed mapping of the coast from the Carolinas to Labrador. Also, it is the first Dutch map of the region to diverge from the 'Jansson-Visscher' precursor maps. (more details)

A fine full color example of Francis Lamb's 1676 map of Virginia, Maryland, and the Chesapeake Bay. Oriented to the west, Lamb's map covers from Albemarle Sound to the Susquehanna River and from the Appalachian Mountains to the Delaware Bay and New ... (more details)

This is Nicolas Sanson's 1656 map of Canada, the Northeast and the Great Lakes, in a superb, untrimmed example. It was among the most influential and important maps of the north part of the Americas to be printed in the 17th century - its depiction of Canada was not superseded until De l'Isle's 1703 Carte du Canada, and it featured the finest depiction of the Great Lakes until the 1687 Coronelli-Nolin. It is among the first printed maps to be informed by the reports of French Jesuit explorers, whose exploration of the Great Lakes region after Champlain's initial explorations was stalled by the 1648 escalation of the Beaver Wars (1603 - 1701) with the Iroquois Confederacy. Following the 1653 pause in the war, Jesuit and French fur traders resumed their push west, gradually revealing the form of the Great Lakes.

The map's treatment of the Arctic waters and Maritime Canada builds on Champlain's basic model, adding place names derived from Dutch and English exploration and preserving Button's explicit northwest passage leading from Button's Bay. (more details)

A magnificent example of Justus Danckerts' 1690 Novi Belgii or map of New York, New England, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Some call this the 'farm animal map' for its novel incorporation of farm animals, ranging from horses and cows to chicken and ... (more details)

This is Abraham Ortelius' map of the Americas in an attractive, early example of the 1587 third plate, printed in 1589. It represents the state-of-the-art mapping of the Western Hemisphere during the initial period of European Colonization. It is significant as the first printed map to illustrate the Chesapeake Bay, predating John White's 1590 map of Virginia. (more details)

Published in 1606 by the Mercator – Hondius firm, this is the most influential map of the southeastern part of North America to emerge in the 17th century and the first map to depict by Virginia and Florida. entitled, 'Virginiae Item et ... (more details)

This is a beautiful 1688 Vincenzo Maria Coronelli globe gore focused on North America east of the Mississippi and west of the Chesapeake, engraved Coronelli's masterpiece 3 1/2 foot globe. The copperplate was adapted in 1697 for inclusion in Coronelli's bound atlases, masked off between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator to fit book format. The gore covers most of North America east of the Mississippi, spanning from the Tropic of Cancer to the Arctic Circle. Thus, it shows the northern Gulf Coast, Florida, Chesapeake Bay, the Mississippi River (after La Salle), the Great Lakes, and Hudson's Bay. The geography is substantively the same as that on Coronelli's two-sheet America Settentrionale. Although that map bears the date 1688, it was not actually published any earlier than 1690 and it is very probable that the globes represent the earlier appearance of this geographical information. (more details)

This scarce, beautiful engraving is the globe gore presenting a map of the American northeast, the West Indies, and Terra Firma in South America, engraved in 1688 for Vincenzo Coronelli's 42-inch (3 1/2 foot) terrestrial globe, reprinted in 1697 for inclusion in his Libro dei Globi and Isolario. The map spans from the Equator in the south to Newfoundland in the north, centered on the Tropic of Cancer. It includes Canada in the vicinity of the Saint Lawrence River and Acadia, New England and New York, and part of the coastline around the Chesapeake Bay. The West Indies are shown from the Bahamas to Trinidad, stretching from the eastern part of Cuba to Barbados, including the imaginary island of Fonseca. The gore's southern extents show the northern parts of South America, from modern day Venezuela to the Orinoco Delta and the Guianas, and the fabled city of El Dorado. (more details)

This is Nicolas Sanson's 1656 map of Canada, the Northeast, and the Great Lakes, in an attractive, untrimmed example. It ranks among the most influential and important maps of the north part of the Americas to be printed in the 17th century - its depiction of Canada was not superseded until De l'Isle's 1703 Carte du Canada, and it features the finest depiction of the Great Lakes until the 1687 Coronelli-Nolin. It is among the first printed maps to be informed by the reports of French Jesuit explorers, whose exploration of the Great Lakes region after Champlain's initial explorations was stalled by the 1648 escalation of the Beaver Wars (1603 - 1701) with the Iroquois Confederacy. Following the 1653 pause in the war, Jesuit and French fur traders resumed their push west, gradually revealing the form of the Great Lakes. (more details)

An utterly spectacular and sprawling 1850 John Williams Norie blueback nautical chart or maritime map depicting the North American coastline from New York to the Florida Keys. The map is oriented to the west, as a navigator from Europe ... (more details)

This is Vincenzo Coronelli and Jean Baptiste Nolin's separately-published map of Eastern Canada and the Northeastern part of the British Colonies in North America, in an attractive example. It is an essential Canadianum, incorporating up-to-date sources from both the French and English, whilst presenting pro-French territorial claims aggressively. (more details)

This is J. H. Colton's rare, large-format 1863 map of the eastern part of North Carolina during the American Civil War. Among other features, it highlights the Union blockade of the coastlines of these Confederate states, a somewhat porous but still important factor in constraining the Southern economy throughout the war. (more details)

This is the 1795 Russell edition of Andrew Ellicott's seminal plan or map of Washington D.C., published prior to its becoming in 1800 the capital of the United States. The map illustrates the original urban layout of Washington D.C, then only a small part of the District of Columbia. Centered on the confluence of the Potomac and the Eastern Branch (Anacostia) Rivers, the map covers the Washington D.C. grid as far north as W Street. It also includes the older nearby city of Georgetown. (more details)

A rare 1861 Louis Prang map of three theaters of the American Civil War (1861 - 1865), providing an as-it-happened snapshot of the war in its early months, when both Union and Confederate forces rushed to raise armies, produce war materiel, and grasp disputed territory. (more details)

A beautiful, original-color example of Guillaume Blaeu's 1635 map of the Virginia colony and the Chesapeake Bay. Oriented to the west, this map covers from Cape Henry to the Susquehanna River and inland as far as the Appalachian Mountains. The Chesapeake Bay is shown in full as are many of its river estuaries, although topographically this map places a number of mountain ranges where there are in fact none. Cartographically, this map is based upon John Smith's landmark map of the Virginia colony issued in 1612. Smith's fine survey work, as well as reports from indigenous American Indian tribes, and wishful thinking, combine to make this one of the most interesting maps of America to emerge in the 17th century. Philip D. Burden, the author of The Mapping of America, considers this map, Nova Virginiae Tabula, to be

one of the most important maps of America ever produced and certainly one of the greatest influence.

(more details)