"L'Amerique Septentrionale", Sanson, Nicolas

This is an uncommon little map of North America showing a large island of California with a flat northern coastline. The Rio Grande (R. de Nort) is shown flowing incorrectly into the Gulf of California, rather than the Gulf of Mexico. All five Great Lakes are shown but are still misshapen, and Erie is not yet named. A small stretch of Terre de Iesso appears west of California. The title cartouche in the upper left corner shows a kneeling native making an offering to a standing European with a wriggling snake in the foreground. This is apparently a later edition from a smaller plate with the engraver's imprint erased.

References: Burden #705; cf. McLaughlin #119.

Condition: B

Issued folding on watermarked paper with moderate offsetting and some light uneven toning. There is a binding trim at right with an associated tear that just enters less than 0.5" into the neatline and has been closed on verso with archival tape.