This elegant engraving is one of the more distinctive and decorative maps of the 18th century. It is based upon Guillaume Danet’s map of 1731, which in turn was based on Delisle's map of the Americas. What makes this map exceptional is the elaborate and detailed border decorations with portraits of New World explorers running along the top and bottom including Christopher Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Ferdinand Cortez and Ferdinand Magellan along with nine country seals. Illustrations of the signs of the zodiac occupy the left and right border.

Cartographically, a large Sea of the West dominates northwestern North America with the notation Communication Presumee linking it to the Hudson Bay. The north Pacific Ocean is continued in an inset at bottom right, extending from Russia and Japan to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Numerous misconceptions abound in the inset, including T. de la Compagnie east of Japan, an oddly shaped Alaska, Lac Valasco north of Alaska, L. de Fonte, and an additional waterway just north of the Sea of the West connecting the Pacific Ocean to Hudson Bay. The notation above the inset explains that there are contradictory reports regarding the region, and hence the cartographer has indicated certain geography with solid lines and uncertain geography with dashed lines. The Mississippi River is shown at its approximate correct location through present-day Louisiana. In South America, the mythical lakes Parime and Xarayes still appear in the interior. A large text panel provides historical notes on the explorers portrayed in the panels, while numerous other notes across the map provide a fascinating complement to the geography.

This is the 4th state, which was the first state to include the Sea of the West and the inset at bottom right.

References: McGuirk #83.

Condition: B+

A crisp impression on a sheet with the watermark of a Masonic cross encircled in rosary beads and light soiling. Professionally reinforced with archival tissue on verso along the centerfold and edges of the sheet to repair separations along the centerfold and a few small worm holes along the edges of the sheet.