Very scarce—one edition only. The earliest collectible map of the eastern seaboard and the earliest to provide a representation of the New York City area. It is also the first map listed in Palmer's "Chronological List of Maps & Charts [of Bermuda]" and is thus earliest obtainable map with Bermuda (here..... More about Tierra Nueva
A beautiful example of this fascinating and desirable 16th century woodcut--Munster’s visual compendium of sea and land monsters. Many of the former were inspired by whale sightings, as is suggested by the several creatures in the image spouting water. Other beasts seem quite familiar, though..... More about Monstra marina & terrestria, quae passim in partibus aquilonis inveniuntur
The rare first state of an important and in some ways groundbreaking map. The woodblock for this map was destroyed shortly after its publication in a fire in November of 1557, hence its rarity. The map was compiled by the great Venetian cartographer, Giacomo Gastaldi, and appeared in a three-volume..... More about Universale Della Parte Del Mondo
Excellent example of the earliest separate map of the entire Western Hemisphere. This was also the earliest map to refer to the Pacific Ocean (along with Munster's world map) by a variant of its present name, Mare pacificum. It was one of earliest acquirable maps to show Japan prominently, which... More about Tavola dell’ isole nuove
Separately published. These are among the earliest separate maps of the respective islands. This single sheet with the two maps appeared in a very rare, assembled-to-order, Italian atlas; such atlases are known under the generic name of La Freri, after the Roman publisher and bookseller, who compiled many of them... More about L’Isola cuba e piu settetriōal della Spagnola. . ./ L’ Isola Spagnola…
A very fine example of the first edition of this foundational map. "One of the half-dozen most important mother-maps of southeastern North America. This map probably had more influence than any other map in establishing the subsequent conception of Florida as including that part of the present United States from..... More about La Florida. Auctore Hieron. Chiasues. Peruviae Auriferae Regionis Typus… Guastecan Reg
An excellent example of the second plate (see below) of this important map. It was the "first map of the Americas to appear in a modern atlas," (Schwartz) and one that “had a great influence on the future cartography of the New World” (Burden). When this map was issued, the..... More about Americae Sive Novi Orbis, Nova Descriptio
One of the engraving masterworks of early cartography, this is arguably the most beautiful early map of the Caribbean – here with superb color heightened with gold. The map’s engraver, Theodore De Bry, was trained as a goldsmith, and the intricacy inherent in this craft can be seen in this..... More about Occidentalis Americae partis, ve, earum Regionum quas Christophorus Columbus
The first separate map of the Pacific in a strong example. “One of the most important maps that appeared in the Ortelius atlases ...” (Burden). With its two splendid cartouches and a well-detailed illustration of Magellan’s flagship, the Victoria, this is also one of the most beautifully engraved of Ortelius’..... More about Maris Pacifici, (quod vulgo Mar del Zur
"In many respects this map is the first printed map of Alaska." (Verner) However, much of what is shown here is imaginary, since most of the area covered by the map had not yet been seen by Europeans. The map does extend to northern California, so in its southern portions... More about Limes Occidentis Quivira et Anian. 1597
A very early and revealing map of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions at the time of initial colonization. "A superbly executed engraving, [the map] depicts the northeastern American coastline as it was perceived by European geographers one hundred years after the discovery of the New World. [It] marks the approximate... More about Norumbega Et Virginia
One of the most visually distinctive early maps of the Western Hemisphere, based on the work of "the greatest name in geographical science after Ptolemy" (Tooley). Its format is both unusual and elegant: the map is set within a circle surrounded by a design of interlocking acanthus leaves and cornucopias... More about America sive India Nova
"The foundation map of New England cartography, the one that gave it its name and the first devoted to the region." (Burden 187) This very scarce Hulsius edition was published the year following the original English edition. It is a virtually exact re-engraving of the very rare first state of... More about New England
Very rare view of the Yucatan city that along with Havana and Cartagena were the three most important ports during the Spanish colonial era. Gold and silver mined in Mexico came to be loaded on to Spanish treasure ships at Campeche. For this and other reasons, throughout its history, the... More about St. Francisco De Campeche
A fine example of a “map of great importance” (Burden). It was first and only cartographic document reflecting an early plan for the colonization of New England. The map "locates twenty patentees among whom the region extending from Cape Cod to Maine was divided..... More about Untitled Map of New England and Canada
A map that combines elegant design with historical importance, it depicts the area from the lower Chesapeake Bay, down through North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the entire coastlines of South Carolina and Georgia, along through to northern Florida. The map reflects the growth of the English colony beyond the Jamestown settlement..... More about Virginiae partis australis, et Floridae
A beautiful example of one of the earliest, acquirable maps to focus on what is now the United States. The Jansson-Hondius was also one of the first Dutch atlas maps to show California as an island, preceded only by the Hondius world map of 1630. A note on the map... More about America Septentrionalis
Brilliant example of a work that epitomized the Golden Age of Cartography. The map’s side borders provide fine miniatures of Native Americans of various regions, while important harbors and cities, including Mexico City, Cusco, and the silver mines of Potosi, Bolivia, are illustrated in the top border. Eight fully rigged..... More about Americae nova Tabula. Auct: Guiljelmo Blaeuw
A stunning example of Dutch decorative cartography, this map abounds in images of indigenous peoples, flora, and fauna associated with the area. When it was first published, knowledge of the Strait of Le Maire and thus a water route to the Pacific below Tierra de Fuego was still relatively recent... More about Tabula Magellanica Qua Tierrae del Fuego
First state of Robert Dudley’s rare, beautiful chart of the eastern coast of Greenland. It was published in Dudley’s Arcano de Mare, one of the most strikingly beautiful works of maritime cartography ever produced and the first sea atlas by an Englishman. “It was the first sea atlas in which..... More about Carta particolare della Gronlandia Orientale
An attractive, full-size edition of Sanson’s elegantly engraved map of Brazil. It shows the coast of South America encompassing both Rio De Janeiro in the south and the Amazon River in the north. In sharp distinction with Dutch maps of the region that tended to downplay the Portuguese claims to..... More about Le Bresil, dont la Coste set possedeé par les portugais et diviseé en Quatorze Capitanieries
An attractive example of a pivotal map, which inaugurated a new era in the cartography of North America, as dominance in mapmaking turned decidedly in favor of the French. In addition to being one of the earliest obtainable maps to show all five Great Lakes in a recognizable form, this..... More about Amerique Septentrionale
An exquisitely engraved rarity, the earliest printed chart of the Northeast that was published in the first sea atlas produced by an Englishman (though published in Florence), the Arcano del Mare (Secrets of the Sea). One of the jewels of early cartography, the atlas’s elegant Florentine engraving formed a link..... More about Carta particulare della nuova Belgia e parte della nuova Anglia
A very attractive, near-mint example. Speed's handsomely engraved work is one of the earliest English maps of the area and one of the first to demarcate the borders of colonial Virginia and Maryland. Just three years before the publication of Speed’s map, Augustine Herrman had conducted the first thorough surveys..... More about A Map of Virginia and Maryland
A beautiful example of a map that is as historically important as it is attractive. It was the culmination of all the surveys of the area conducted by the Dutch colonists of New Netherlands during their first three decades in America. It is also the first printed map to delineate... More about Novi Belgii Novaeque Angliae