Nicolas Visscher: Nova Tabula Geographica Complectens Borealiorem Americae Partem | Carte Nouvelle Contenant la Partie d'Amerique la Plus Septentrionale
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Cartographer:
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Nicolas Visscher
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Title:
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Nova Tabula Geographica Complectens Borealiorem Americae Partem | Carte Nouvelle Contenant la Partie d'Amerique la Plus Septentrionale
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Date:
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c. 1696
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Published:
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Amsterdam
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Width:
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35 inches / 89 cm
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Height:
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24 inches / 61 cm
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Map ref:
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USA9256
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Description:
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Uncommon first state of Nicolas Visscher two-sheet map of the eastern seaboard of North America, extending from South Carolina to Newfoundland. It has been theorized that this edition was a proof state as it does not include any of the randomly placed mountains and trees which appear on the later states. Instead, this example has rather delicate hills drawn to indicate mountainous regions.
The map uses colour to distinguish the colonial regions of eastern North America in use at the time. Familar names include New England, Nova Scotia, New Jork, East & West New Jarsey, Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina. In general, the geography of the English and Dutch colonies is far more accurate than in French-controlled regions, suggesting that Visscher had better access to English and Dutch maps than those produced by the French. The coastlines are marked with a great deal of accuracy, including depth soundings for the more travelled areas. Sandbanks and shoals are also noted.
Very little detail is provided for Canada or the interior of the continent, with the exception of several enormous lakes. Some of these lakes are identifiable, such as Erie, Ontario, and Huron, though all are incorrectly placed and sized. Lake Erie, or 'Erieou' is particularly egregious, seeming to extend from a latitude north of New York to one south of Virginia. The names of Native American groups are scattered across the map to roughly indicate their home territories, and in the better-explored areas villages are marked as well.
This map was susequently reissued by Pieter Schenck II with minor revisions, and the later states often appear, undated, in composite atlases by Ottens, Covens & Mortier, De Wit, and Valk & Schenck.
Original hand-colour. [Burden (P.): The Mapping of North America II, 731.1] [USA9256] |