London: Printed and sold by R. Sayer and J. Bennett, 1778.. Twenty-three engraved maps on thirty sheets, handcolored in outline. Folio, 21 3/4 x 15... More

London: Printed and sold by R. Sayer and J. Bennett, 1778.. Twenty-three engraved maps on thirty sheets, handcolored in outline. Folio, 21 3/4 x 15 1/2. Expertly bound to style in 18th-century half russia over original marbled paper boards, spine gilt in seven compartments with raised bands, red morocco lettering piece. In a black morocco backed box, lettered in gilt. Provenance: Henry Tomkinson (armorial bookplate). In a half morocco box. The very rare 1778 issue of THE AMERICAN ATLAS, the most important 18th-century atlas for America, and an irreplaceable snapshot of the land as it was during the birth of the United States. Walter Ristow characterizes it as a "geographical description of the whole continent of America, as portrayed in the best available maps in the latter half of the eighteenth century...as a major cartographic reference work it was, very likely, consulted by American, English, and French civilian administrators and military officers during the Revolution." As a collection, THE AMERICAN ATLAS stands as the most comprehensive, detailed, and accurate survey of the American colonies at the beginning of the Revolution. Many of the elements that make up THE AMERICAN ATLAS came into being as a result of the British need to understand the geographic and social layout of their colonies after their victory in the French and Indian War of 1756-63. The maps that resulted from the numerous surveys proved to be by far the best contemporary records of the region. Among these distinguished maps are Braddock Meade's "A Map of the Most Inhabited Parts of New England," the largest and most detailed map of New England that had yet been published; a map of "The Provinces of New York and New Jersey" by Samuel Holland, the surveyor general for the northern American colonies; William Scull's "A Map of Pennsylvania," the first map of that colony to include its western frontier; Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson's "A Map of the Most Inhabited part of Virginia," the best colonial map for the Chesapeake region; and Lieut. Ross' "Course of the Mississipi," the first map of that river based on British sources. Jefferys was the leading British cartographer of the 18th century. From about 1750 he published a series of maps of the British American colonies. As geographer to the Prince of Wales, and after 1761, geographer to the King, Jefferys was well placed to have access to the best surveys conducted in America, and many of his maps held the status of "official work." Jefferys died on Nov. 20, 1771, and in 1775 his successors, Robert Sayer and John Bennett, gathered these separately issued maps together and republished them in book form as THE AMERICAN ATLAS. The first edition with only twenty-two maps on twenty- nine sheets appeared in 1775, and there were subsequent editions in 1776 and 1778. The maps are as follow (many of the maps are on several sheets, and in the Index each individual sheet is numbered; the measurements refer to the image size): 1-3) Braddock Meade (alias John Green): "A Chart of North and South America, including the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Published 10 June 1775." Six sheets joined into three, 43 1/2 x 49 1/2 inches. This great wall map of the Western Hemisphere was chiefly issued to expose the errors in Delisle and Buache's map of the Pacific Northwest, published in Paris in 1752. STEVENS & TREE 4(d). 4) Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg: "The Russian Discoveries. Published March 2nd 1775." One sheet, 18 x 24 1/8 inches. The first official mapping results of the explorations of Bering and Chirikof in Siberia and the Pacific Northwest were issued by the Russian Imperial Academy in 1758. These corrected the earlier incorrect maps including the mythical discoveries of Admiral Fonte. This is a British version of that map. 5-6) Thomas Pownall after E. Bowen: "A New and Correct Map of North America, with the West India Islands. Published 15 February 1777." Four sheets joined into two, 45 1/4 inches. Thomas Pownall updated Bowen's North America map of 1755. Pownall's version included the results of the first Treaty of Paris drawn up after the end of the French and Indian War. STEVENS & TREE 49(f). 7) Thomas Jefferys: "North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville, Improved with the English Surveys Made since the Peace. Published 10 June 1775." One sheet, 18 x 20 inches. STEVENS & TREE 51(c). 8) Samuel Dunn: "A Map of the British Empire in North America. Published 17 August 1776." Half sheet, 18 3/4 x 12 inches. STEVENS & TREE 53(b). 9) Thomas Jefferys: "An Exact Chart of the River St. Laurence from Fort Frontenac to the Island of Anticosti...Published 25 May 1775." Two sheets joined into one, 23 1/2 x 37 inches. STEVENS & TREE 76(d). 10) Sayer & Bennett: "A Chart of the Gulf of St. Laurence...Published 25th March 1775." One sheet, 19 1/2 x 24 inches. 11) "A Map of the Island of St. John in the Gulf of St. Laurence...Published 6 April 1775." One sheet, 15 x 27 1/4 inches. 12) James Cook and Michael Lane: "A General Chart of the Island of Newfoundland...Published 10th May 1775." One sheet, 21 1/2 x 22 inches. James Cook went on to gain renown for his Pacific exploration. 13) "A Chart of the Banks of Newfoundland...Published 25 March 1775." One sheet, 19 1/2 x 26 inches. Based on the surveys of James Cook (see above), Chabert, and Fleurieu. 14) Thomas Jefferys: "A New Map of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island with the Adjacent Parts of New England and Canada...Published 15 June 1775." One sheet, 18 1/2 x 24 inches. Originally published in 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, this map "proved to be important in evaluating respective French and British claims to this part of North America" (Ristow). England gained sole possession of the region by the Treaty of Paris, 1763. STEVENS & TREE 66(c). 15-16) Braddock Meade (alias John Green): "A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of New England. Published November 29, 1774." Four sheets joined into two, 38 3/4 x 40 3/4 inches. The first large-scale map of New England. "The most detailed and informative pre-Revolutionary map of New England...not really supplanted until the nineteenth century" (NEW ENGLAND PROSPECT 13). STEVENS & TREE 33(e). 17) Capt. [Samuel] Holland: "The Provinces of New York and New Jersey, with Part of Pensilvania...Published 17 Aug. 1776." Three insets: "A plan of the City of New York," "A chart of the Mouth of Hudson's River," and "A Plan of Amboy." Two sheets joined, 26 1/2 x 52 3/4 inches. An important large-scale map of the Provinces of New York and New Jersey, by Samuel Holland, surveyor general for the Northern English colonies. With fine insets including a street plan of colonial New York City. STEVENS & TREE 44(d). 18) William Brassier: "A Survey of Lake Champlain, including Lake George, Crown Point and St. John. 5 August 1776." Single sheet, 26 3/4 x 18 3/4 inches. Second state including naval activity on the lake up until Oct. 13, 1776. STEVENS & TREE 25(b). 19) "A New Map of the Province of Quebec, according to the Royal Proclamation, of the 7th of October 1763. From the French Surveys Connected with those made after the War, by Captain Carver, and Other Officers. 16 February 1776." One sheet, 19 1/4 x 26 1/4 inches. STEVENS & TREE 73(a). 20) William Scull: "A Map of Pennsylvania Exhibiting not only the Improved Parts of the Province but also its Extensive Frontiers. Published 10 June 1775." Two sheets joined, 27 x 51 1/2 inches. The first map of the Province of Pennsylvania to include its western frontier. All earlier maps had focused solely on the settled eastern parts of the colony. 21-22) Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson: "A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of Virginia, containing the Whole Province of Maryland...1775." [nd]. Four sheets joined into two, 32 x 48 inches. "The basic cartographical document of Virginia in the eighteenth century...the first to depict accurately the interior regions of Virginia beyond the Tidewater. [It] dominated the cartographical representation of Virginia until the nineteenth century" - Verner. STEVENS & TREE 87(f). 23-24) Henry Mouzon: "An Accurate Map of North and South Carolina with their Indian Frontiers. Published May 30, 1775." Four sheets joined into two, 40 x 54 inches. "The chief type map for [the Carolinas] during the forty or fifty years following its publication. It was used by both British and American forces during the Revolutionary War" - Cumming. STEVENS & TREE 11(a). CUMMING 450. 25) Thomas Jefferys: "The Coast of West Florida and Louisiana...The Peninsula and Gulf of Florida. Published 20 Feby. 1775." Two sheets joined into one, 19 1/2 x 48 inches. Stevens & Tree 26(b). A large-scale map of Florida, based upon the extensive surveys conducted since the region became a British possession by the Treaty of Paris, 1763. 26) Lieut. Ross: "Course of the Mississipi...Taken on an Expedition to the Illinois, in the latter end of the Year 1765. Published 1 June 1775." Two sheets joined into one, 14 x 44 inches. The first large- scale map of the Mississippi River, and the first based in whole or part upon British surveys. STEVENS & TREE 31(b). 27) Thomas Jefferys: "The Bay of Honduras. Published 20 February 1775." One sheet, 18 1/2 x 24 1/2 inches. 28-29) J.B.B. D'Anville: "A Map of South America...Published 20 September 1775." Four sheets joined into two, 20 x 46 inches. 30) Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla and others: "A Chart of the Straits of Magellan. Published 1 July 1775." One sheet, 20 1/2 x 27 inches. HOWES J81, "b." PHILLIPS ATLASES 1165, 1166. SABIN 35953. STREETER SALE 72 (1775 ed). Walter Ristow (editor), THOMAS JEFFERYS The American Atlas LONDON 1776, facsimile edition (Amsterdam 1974). Less

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[Holland: seventeenth century]. Folio. (12 1/2 x 8 inches). 48 watercolours of tulips on vellum, interleaved with plain paper with horn and crown... More

[Holland: seventeenth century]. Folio. (12 1/2 x 8 inches). 48 watercolours of tulips on vellum, interleaved with plain paper with horn and crown watermark, each watercolour titled in ink below image, the first watercolour signed "Grein" at the lower right. Contemporary vellum over pasteboard, contained in a modern dark green morocco box, the covers with gilt-ruled borders, the spine in six compartments with raised bands, lettered in the second, the others with elaborate repeat pattern made up from flower-sprays and various small tools. A spectacular album containing finely-executed images on vellum of all the greatest 17th century varieties of tulips: a landmark in the history of botanical art in the Low Countries, and a unique record of the bulbs that inspired the speculative financial-madness called Tulipomania. The tulip, introduced to Europe in the middle of the sixteenth century from the Ottoman Empire, experienced a strong growth in popularity boosted by competition among the wealthy for possession of the rarest varieties. The tulip rapidly became a coveted luxury item, appearing in main-stream art as a symbol of wealth and as a decorative motif on ceramics and textiles. Special varieties were given exotic names or named after popular figures of the time: generals, admirals, etc. The most spectacular and highly sought-after tulips were the so-called "broken" varieties. These had two or more vivid colours: often a base colour of white or cream with red lines, or flames to the petals. The present album is devoted exclusively to these most expensive varieties. Tulipomania eventually reached a level where fantastic, unsustainable prices were being paid for individual bulbs. In 1637, the bubble burst and the over-heated market collapsed. For some years after this, the tulip's popularity remained at a low level but by the time the present album was produced its unique beauty was beginning once again to be appreciated. Tulip albums were produced for two principle reasons. First, as a selling tool for the bulb dealers: accurate images of what the bulbs they were offering were going to look like were obviously vital and the high prices of the tulipomania era set a precedent of employing artists of a very high quality to record the colours and details of the bulbs. These albums are almost exclusively made up of drawings on paper. One of the best known examples of this type of album is probably the 1637 tulip book of P. Cos, a nurseryman from Haarlem, Holland (now in the collection of the Wageningen Universiteit en Researchcentrum). Second, albums were produced as a collective record of the ephemeral beauty of the blooms grown by individuals, either professional growers or wealthy amateurs. The present album probably falls into this latter category: the original presentation of this album is on a much more luxurious scale than trade albums. The most obvious sign of this is the fact that each of the drawings is on vellum. Vellum, especially the prepared vellum used for the present album, was an expensive luxury material and an indicator that the drawings were commissioned by a wealthy individual (in France, for instance, King Louis XIV had all his botanical drawings executed on vellum: the so-called "velins du Roi"). Tulip albums, whatever their origin, are now very rare: according to Sam Segal (a world-renowned expert on tulips and the author of "Tulips in Visual Art",) there are now only about 50 of these albums extant. This includes albums with drawings on paper and also 18th century albums; thus, the actual number of seventeenth century albums with drawings on vellum is almost certainly no more than a handful. Most albums are in institutional collections, so the present album may well be the final example offered on the open market. Sam Segal offered the following information about the present album: the artist "Grein" is an unrecorded artist, but his name "is a Dutch name known since the early seventeenth century." The paper used for the interleaves is watermarked with a horn and crown, similar to paper known to have been made in Amsterdam and Leiden from 1665. The tulip types are from this period as well, before a relative great change in form and size during the eighteenth century. The flowers themselves carry names that "are known from the 1630s and 1640s, the period of and directly after the tulipomania ...they include the very expensive types of that period, like the 'Semper Augustus' and 'Viceroy.' As in many tulip books meant as a catalogue of a seller of bulbs, the illustrations show many related types. That might mean that they are tulips from one nursery or one collection from which the owner gave an order to the artist to paint his collection. The names of some of the tulips could point to a possible commissioner of the album, like 'General Doriszlav' and 'Grootvorst van Moscovicz.'" Dash,Tulipomania , London, 1999; Goldgar,Tulipomania , Chicago, 2007; Pavord,The Tulip,London, 1999; van der Goes (editor) Tulipomanie, Zwolle/Dresden, 2004; Wijnands,Tulips portrayed, Wageningen, 1987. Less

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Philadelphia: 1759. Engraved map on six sheets, joined as three. Excellent condition, with three short repaired tears, very minor age toning at the... More

Philadelphia: 1759. Engraved map on six sheets, joined as three. Excellent condition, with three short repaired tears, very minor age toning at the sheet edges, overall in remarkable unsophisticated condition. Provenance: Laird U. Park (Sotheby’s New York, 29 November 2000, lot 322). 3 sheets, each app. 31 x 21 1/2 inches. "The first map of Pennsylvania to be published in America [as well as] the most ambitious cartographical work to come from an American source before the Revolution" (Wroth). Nicholas Scull, Jr. (1687-1761) was born in Philadelphia to Nicholas Scull, Sr. the surveyor and mapmaker, who had been apprenticed to William Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme. In 1719, he became deputy surveyor of Philadelphia County, eventually ascending to the Surveyor Generalship of Pennsylvania in 1748. A bibliophile, he was an original member of Benjamin Franklin's Junto. Scull was intimately involved with Indian relations for the colony, having travelled amongst the tribes to survey the western counties. He was knowledgeable in several local Native languages. But in the dispute that arose about the infamous Walking Purchase of 1737, at which he was present, his recollections favored the Proprietors. This is hardly surprising but it no doubt put him in a good position with the Penn family, and it is thought that this may have led to the publication of this impressive map. It was the first map of Pennsylvania since Thomas Holme's 1687 map of the then much smaller settlement, and represents a vast amount of on-site surveying. Dedicated to the Penn brothers, Scull's map is among the largest and finest maps produced in America in the 18th century. It was an extraordinary achievement. The map depicts Philadelphia, Bucks, Northampton, Berks, Chester, Lancaster, Cumberland, and York Counties, and is based on Scull's own surveys, as well as the contributions of several others (whom he acknowledges). Some information was gleaned from printed sources, including Fry-Jefferson's important map, evidenced by a printed footnote concerning the location of Fort Cumberland and the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. Elevation is accurately depicted, much in the style of Fry-Jefferson, by neat hachuring marks. The eastern counties include a wealth of detail, such as churches, meeting houses, inns, iron forges, mills and the manors of significant residents; roads, Indian paths, Indian towns and forts: all clearly shown throughout. Although generally quite accurate, it is curious that Scull included Fort Granville on his map, which had been destroyed by the French and Delaware Indians in 1756. Nevertheless, the importance and accuracy of this large- scale map is underscored by the fact that a copy of it was among the maps hung by the Board of War at Philadelphia in August 1776, twenty years after the map's publication (as noted by John Adams in his letter to his wife dated 13 August 1776). The map was engraved by James Turner (d. 1759), a Philadelphia silversmith and prot? of Benjamin Franklin. Turner had previously worked on map engraving during the production of James Parker's 1747 maps of New Jersey, a project for which he had been recommended by Franklin. Little is known about the printer John Davis. Although he had no shop, he appears to have specialized in large copperplate engravings of maps, as he is the printer identified in the imprint of the 1756 Philadelphia first edition of Joshua Fisher's important chart of Delaware Bay. That map and the present one are his only known works. Nicholas Scull's grandson William Scull revised and extended the 1759 map in a version that was also dedicated to the Penn brothers but which was published in London in 1770, and appeared subsequently in several editions through the decade. Much of the geographical information is the same, but interestingly the earlier map is both larger and evinces greater aesthetic satisfaction. Scull's 1759 map of Pennsylvania is very rare, with less than a dozen known institutional copies. Only a few have appeared at auction in the last half century, most notably in the sales of the collections of Thomas W. Streeter, Howard E. Welsh and Laird U. Park (this copy). Everstadt 167:430 (quoting Wroth); Evans 8489; Garrison, "Cartography of Pennsylvania before 1800 in PMHB vol. 59, no.3; Phillips, p. 673; Ristow, pp. 52-53, Streeter sale 965; Wheat & Brun 422; Sellers & Van Ee 1294.0 Less

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