Rare Hand Colored Pictorial Map of New England and Eastern Canada, from the Estate of the Artist

"The "New" Lands of North Eastern America. Comprising Newfoundland, New Scotland (Nova Scotia), & New Brunswick: Parts of New France (Quebec), New England, New York & New Jersey...",

Peter R. Furse's rare pictorial map of New England and parts of eastern Canada spans from Atlantic City north to the Strait of Belle Isle. This example is a rare instance of a hand-colored 20th-century pictorial map, here executed by Kathy Hooper, the artist's daughter. The map is simple and elegant, with the names of notable towns and cities identified. The Gaspe Peninsula, New Brunswick, Anticosti Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland are all depicted, as well as parts of Quebec and Labrador. The North Atlantic is decorated with a galleon under full sail and an ornate compass rose. Surrounding the map is an elaborate border incorporating various coats of arms and the seals of the states of Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut. Title is enclosed in a decorative cartouche. Printed by Lingley Printing Company Limited, Saint John, New Brunswick.

This map is from the estate of artist and cartographer Peter R. Furse (1901-70). Furse was born 1901 in Farnham, Surrey, England. During World War I, he enlisted in the Royal Navy. He worked as a cartographer and graduated from Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, in 1922. He moved to Africa and was stationed in Cape Town, South Africa during World War II. It was during his time in Africa that Furse began to make pictorial maps. His family relocated to North America, eventually settling in New Brunswick, Canada in 1962. Once there, he became an active member of the "Hampton Group" artists' community and continued to work on his art until his death in 1970. Furse's terrific style mixes a 20th-century graphic sensibility with an uncommon elegance that hearkens back to the aesthetics of previous centuries of mapmaking.

References: Rumsey #15273.

Condition: A+

On watermarked Superfine Linen Record 100% Canadian Rag by Rolland Paper Co. There are remnants of hinge tape on verso.