A. Degrees of Latitude - Mapping Colonial America, by Margaret Beck Pritchard and Henry G. Taliaferro, published 2002, (9.5 x 11.6"). This fascinating volume was published by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in conjunction with Harry N. Abrams, Inc. to commemorate the 75th anniversary of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s restoration of colonial Williamsburg. Its first part features two essays and a study of 73 maps from the Colonial Williamsburg Collection written by Pritchard, Curator of Prints, Maps, and Wallpaper. The second part includes a case study of an atlas belonging to colonist John Custis and an essay on Philip Lea and the 17th-century map trade. The book's emphasis on the cultural and historical context of the maps discussed distinguishes it from similar volumes. 434 pp., with 283 illustrations, including 159 color plates. Hardbound in red cloth with gilt titles on spine, and an illustrated dust jacket. Condition: There are light damp stains along the top edge and bottom corner of the covers and dust jacket. Text is very good overall with faint and unobtrusive damp stains and some slight rippling. (B+)

B. George Washington's America - A Biography Through His Maps, by Barnet Schecter, published 2010, (10.3 x 13.3"). George Washington wasn't just one of the Founding Fathers of the United States - he was a map collector. With this book, historian Barnet Schecter crafts a sort of carto-biography of Washington, using the maps that Washington collected or drew himself to tell his story and the story of the nation that he helped to establish. It includes 26 maps from Washington's personal collection, a dozen of his own manuscript maps (including a survey of his brother's turnip patch, completed when he was only 15 years old), and more than a hundred additional illustrations. 303 pp. Hardbound in gray cloth with silver titles on spine and an illustrated dust jacket. Condition: Text is near fine. Covers slightly bumped in the corners. Dust jacket has minor wear. (A)

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Condition:

See description above.