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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
This is the most lavishly decorative of all the early editions of the best 17th century, Dutch map of the Northeast and New York. It added illustrations of animals and other detail not found on previous issues. The map was the culmination of all the surveys of the area conducted..... More
A beautiful chart of the famed fishing grounds that lured European fishermen since the 15th century. It boasts one of van Keulen's more ambitious cartouches in which cherubs fish with nets. Oriented with north to the right, the engraving shows the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland at the top. More
A superb example of this striking, large-scale chart of the Chesapeake Bay, the lower waterways of Virginia, and Delaware Bay. It was one of the first charts to fully utilize the pivotal Augustine Hermann map of 1673, even using Hermann’s symbols for the plantations along the Bay and various rivers. ..... More