Subject: Colonial Southern United States
Period: 1780 (circa)
Publication: Atlante Novissimo
Color: Hand Color
Size:
16.6 x 12.1 inches
42.2 x 30.7 cm
This map provides a great regional description of the Gulf Coast from New Orleans to Florida, and of the valley of the Mississippi River north to above the Arkansas River where Hernando de Soto was supposedly buried. The map also details Mobile Bay and the course of the Albama River and tributaries, as well as the region of Capo S. Biagio and the course of the Apalachicola River. In the north, the prominent trading route, Strada de Coll Welk, nearly reaches the Mississippi River and is marked with distances between important points. Another road is shown in Florida and several Indian trails are depicted. Numerous Indian tribes are located and there are notations concerning the quality of the land. The map is sheet X from Zatta's Le Colonie Unite dell' America Settentrle, which is often referred to as the Italian edition of John Mitchell's map, on which it is based. Zatta's maps retain Mitchell's scale, but being smaller are more legible. Zatta also included updated legends (in Italian) with notations concerning the Revolutionary War, such as Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga.
This example is accompanied by a copy of the map printed on a transparency sheet.
References: Portinaro & Knirsch, plt. CLII; Sellers and Van Ee #163; Shirley (BL Atlases) T.ZAT-1a, Vol. 4 #37.
Condition: A
A crisp impression with contemporary color on a bright sheet with the watermarks of three crescent moons, "Mezana" and a bird on a perch. There is a hint of offsetting along the centerfold and several stains confined to the blank margins.