"A Chart of the Gulf of St. Laurence, Composed from a Great Number of Actual Surveys and Other Materials, Regulated and Connected by Astronomical Observations", Jefferys/Sayer & Bennett

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.

First state of this handsome sailing chart of the gulf, embracing Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and New Britain, complete with rhumb lines, soundings, shoals and numerous notations. The coastlines are presented in great detail, naming a profusion of harbors and ports. A table of Astronomical Observations lists the latitude and longitude of various major ports. This is an excellent example of the work of Thomas Jefferys, one of the most outstanding English cartographers of the late 18th century.

References: Kershaw #597; Phillips (Maps) p. 762.

Condition: B+

Contemporary outline color on a sturdy sheet with the watermarks of a Strasbourg Lily and the initials "WF." There is minor toning, light offsetting, and a small area of thin paper near centerfold at left. Short centerfold separations at right and left have been closed on verso with archival tape.