Catalog Archive
Auction 171, Lot 322

"The Coast of Yucatan from Campeche to Bahia del Ascension; with the West End of Cuba", Jefferys/Sayer

Subject: Southeastern Mexico & Western Cuba

Period: 1775 (dated)

Publication: West-India Atlas

Color: Hand Color

Size:
24.5 x 18.4 inches
62.2 x 46.7 cm
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Thomas Jefferys was one of the most important English map publishers of the 18th century. His work included prints and maps of locations around the world, but his most notable maps are of North America and the West Indies. He began his career in the map trade in the early 1730s, working as an engraver for a variety of London publishers, and eventually setting up his own shop. In 1746, he was appointed Geographer to the Prince of Wales, and in 1760 he became Geographer to the King. These titles granted access to manuscripts and cartographic information held by the government. In the early 1760s he embarked on an ambitious project to produce a series of English county maps based on new surveys, but ran out of money and filed for bankruptcy in 1766. He then partnered with London publisher Robert Sayer, who reissued many of Jefferys plates and continued to issue new editions after Jefferys' death in 1771. Jefferys' American Atlas and the accompanying West-India Atlas, published post posthumously, are considered his most important cartographic works.

Fine sea chart covering from the Yucatan Peninsula to western Cuba, including Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, etc. This is a continuation of Jefferys' magnificent map of Cuba, which does not include the western tip of the island. A fleet of galleons is shown on the course from Cartagena, while individual ships ply the Mexican waters between Cape Catoche and Campeche. There are excellent navigational details of soundings, rocks, shoals, and banks.

References: Shirley (BL Atlases) M.JEF-4a #12.

Condition: B+

A crisp impression on paper with a large fleur-de-lis coat of arms watermark, minor toning along the centerfold, and a centerfold separation that enters less than 1" into image at bottom and that has been closed with archival tape. There are faint damp stains in the top blank margin which have caused a hole along the centerfold at top and some paper weakness that has been reinforced on verso with cello tape.

Estimate: $350 - $425

Sold for: $200

Closed on 2/6/2019

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