"A Map of the Countries Thirty Degrees Round the North Pole", Neele, Samuel John
Subject: North Pole
Period: 1808 (dated)
Publication:
Color: Hand Color
Size:
13.8 x 13.7 inches
35.1 x 34.8 cm
This map shows the extent of polar geographical knowledge at the end of the 18th century. The northern shoreline of North America is unknown and left mostly blank. In northern Canada a large area is labeled Hearn's Discoveries; nearby are the Dog Ribb'd Indians and the Copper Indians. A small area of coastline at the end of the Coppermine River is labeled The Sea and dated 1772, a reference to Samuel Hearne's journey up the Coppermine River. Hearne was the first European to reach the Arctic Ocean via an overland route. Greenland is shown connected to the continent across Baffin's Bay. Includes notes of fresh water, and another note between Siberia and Alaska indicates that the ice extends from continent to continent. Engraved by Neele and published by Longman & Co.
References:
Condition: A
Contemporary outline color on a sheet with a watermark dated 1805. There is faint centerfold toning and minute wormholes along the edges of the sheet, well away from image.