The Two Northern Sheets of the Reduced Size Edition of Popple's Map

"Nouvelle Carte Particuliere de l'Amerique, ou Sont Exactement Marquees, une Partie de la Baye d'Hudson… / … Ou sont Exactement Marquees la Nouvelle Bretagne, le Canada, ou Nouvelle France…", Popple/Covens & Mortier

These are the two northern sheets of the Dutch four-sheet version of Henry Popple's important map, A Map of the British Empire in America, published by Covens and Mortier. Popple's map was the most important map that detailed the country before John Mitchell's map of 1755. Popple based his map on first-hand information gathered over several years at the Board of Trade and Plantations. The map, first issued in London on twenty sheets in 1733, was the first large-scale British map to provide an overall view of the eastern half of North America. As tensions grew between the colonial powers, the map became immensely influential throughout Europe and was copied by several cartographers. Each map of the four-sheet edition by Covens and Mortier carried a separate title and was surrounded by full borders, so that each sheet could be sold individually. In this example the two sheets have been joined, with the cut-off borders retained on verso.

The northwestern sheet covers the Mississippi River valley from just below St. Louis, the Great Lakes, and extends to Hudson Bay. The superb detail includes forests, lakes, bogs, rivers, portages, forts, towns, and Indian villages. The Great Lakes are shown with considerable distortion and several hypothetical lakes are prominently shown. The advertising cartouche at upper left boasts of the map's accuracy and includes a recommendation by the prominent astronomer, Edmund Halley.

The northeastern sheet covers the region from Labrador to Cape Fear, North Carolina, and inland to the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. The map is filled with incredible detail including the important Grand Fishing Bank of New-Foundland. The sea is filled with a myriad of different ships and fishing boats.

References: McCorkle #741.4; Kershaw #338.

Condition: C+

Original outline color with light toning and minor soiling. Several worm tracks and tears located primarily within the title and top border, as well as a 3" worm track along border at bottom left, have all been archivally repaired. The map has been trimmed to the neatlines, and a 2" fold separation at far left has been closed on verso with archival tape.