Map of Chesapeake Bay Based on Landmark Herrman Map

"A New Map of Virginia Mary-land and the Improved Parts of Pennsylvania & New Jersey...", Browne/Senex

This fine map of Chesapeake Bay is a derivative of the landmark map by Augustine Herrman. The map has been re-oriented with north at the top and the western region has been simplified, but the precise mapping of the bay was taken directly from the surveys of Herrman. Delaware is shown to be a part of Pennsylvania, favoring the claims of Lord Baltimore, rather than the Cape Henelopen boundary, which was finally ratified by the British courts when the dispute was settled in the 1730s. New Jersey is divided into East and West Jersey, and the Virginia-Maryland border is shown correctly along the right bank of the Potomac River. The Raritan River system derives from either the cartography of John Ried or Philip Wells. The cartouche is festooned with tobacco, a major product of the region during colonial times.

In 1673 Augustine Herrman received a royal, fourteen-year copyright on his map of Chesapeake Bay. Despite the copyright, the map was plagiarized almost immediately, first in 1676 in Speed's atlas, and many slightly modified and simplified editions followed. One of the most successful of the Herrman derivatives, in terms of longevity and beauty, was this map, first issued by Christopher Browne in about 1692 and then reissued by John Senex in 1719. Senex dedicated his edition to the Earl of Orkney, Lord George Hamilton, who was then the Governor of Virginia.

References: Burden #694; Stephenson & McKee, p. 52, #II-17; Stevens & Tree #86c; Wooldridge #84.

Condition: A

A superb impression on watermarked paper with a few faint spots and minor toning along the edges of the sheet. There are very short centerfold separations at top and bottom that have been archivally repaired. Narrow top margin, as issued.