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 is the first edition of this classic map of Tobago, issued shortly after the British conquest of the island. The map illustrates the rapid development of sugar plantations; each large division is noted with the number of estates (286 total) and acreages. Only a few small, mountainous portions of the island are Reserved in Wood for Rains. The map depicts the Indian villages, watering places, forts (including a demolished French fort), rocks, shoals, and anchorages with very specific navigational notations. Two large insets depict Great & Little Courland bays and Man of War Bay.

References: Sellers & Van Ee #2110; Shirey (BL Atlases) M.JEF-4a #37.

Condition: B+

A sharp impression with full contemporary color on a sheet with the watermarks "IV" and a Strasbourg lily. There is a crease at left, minor offsetting, and light soiling that is mostly in the margins. The left edge of the sheet and a short centerfold separation at bottom are backed in cloth tape.