Thomas Jefferys was one of the most important English map publishers of the 18th century. His work included prints and maps of locations around the world, but his most notable maps are of North America and the West Indies. He began his career in the map trade in the early 1730s, working as an engraver for a variety of London publishers, and eventually setting up his own shop. In 1746, he was appointed Geographer to the Prince of Wales, and in 1760 he became Geographer to the King. These titles granted access to manuscripts and cartographic information held by the government. In the early 1760s he embarked on an ambitious project to produce a series of English county maps based on new surveys, but ran out of money and filed for bankruptcy in 1766. He then partnered with London publisher Robert Sayer, who reissued many of Jefferys plates and continued to issue new editions after Jefferys' death in 1771. Jefferys' American Atlas and the accompanying West-India Atlas, published post posthumously, are considered his most important cartographic works.

This rare chart shows Cartagena Bay oriented with north to the left. There is good detail of the forts and batteries that were used by the Spanish against Admiral Vernon's fleet in the Battle of Cartagena in 1741. The roads surrounding the bay and the countryside are also depicted. Soundings, shoals, and rocks are identified within the bay.

References: Kapp (MCC-77) #92c; Shirley (BL Atlases) M.JEF-3a #6.

Condition: B+

Issued folding and now flattened with very light toning. Professionally backed in thin tissue to repair several small chips and tears in the blank margins, as well as a small hole in an unengraved area of the map.