This lot includes a pair of early thematic maps depicting the hemispheres, a title page, and a plate from Burnet's The Theory of the Earth. The western hemisphere depicts California as an island, and there is a single large lake in the vicinity of the Great Lakes. The continents are shown in outline with accentuated chains of mountains and no place names. Numerous islands are shown throughout the oceans denoting hypothetical lands that existed before the Flood.

A. [Western Hemisphere] (7.4 x 7.5"). Condition: There is an edge tear confined to the lower blank margin closed on verso with archival tape and minor soiling in the blank margins. (B+)

B. [Eastern Hemisphere] (7.4 x 7.5"). Condition: Minor soiling and a few spots in the image. (B+)

C. The Sacred Theory of the Earth (6.1 x 9.9"). Condition: Light soiling, faint offsetting from an opposing page of text, and a small chip in the bottom left corner of the sheet replaced with old paper. (B+)

D. [Title Page] The Theory of the Earth: Containing an Account of the Original of the Earth... (5.4 x 10.1"). Condition: Light soiling and offsetting from an opposing page of text. (B)

Thomas Burnet was the first Englishman to attempt a scientific account of the origin of the earth. His popular and controversial treatise focused upon the breaking up of "the fountains of the great deep" as the cause of the flood, as described in Genesis 7:11, and it presented a model of the earth's structure with ample stores of water within subterranean chambers.

References: Shirley #507; McLaughlin #77.

Condition:

Watermarked paper. See description above.