This is one of a pair of world maps Wells included in his A New Sett of Maps... and depicts California as an Island. The northwest coast of North America is left blank and North America is noted as perhaps being "no other, than the Insular Atlantis of the Ancients." The eastern coastline of Australia is not yet formed and New Zealand is also only partially delineated. The map is surrounded by lovely engraved scenes including the royal coat of arms and a dedication to His Highness William, Duke of Gloucester, who was attending Oxford where Wells was a teacher of mathematics and geography and who appears with his tutor under the tree on the right. On either side of the dedication are small landscapes, one of ships arriving in the New World and one of the Sheldonian Theater in Oxford. Engraved by Michael Burghers.

References: Shirley #608; Shirley (BL Atlases) T.WELL-1a #1.

Condition: B

A nice impression, issued folding with light toning and soiling and an archivally repaired tear that extends 6" into the image at bottom center.