Rare Chart of the Coastline of Georgia

"A New Chart of the Coast of North America from Port Royal Entrance to Matanza Inlet Exhibiting the Coast of Georgia &c.", Laurie & Whittle

This is a later edition of Laurie & Whittle's separately-issued chart of the coastline from Hilton Head, South Carolina to St. Augustine, Florida, which was first published in 1792. The chart includes excellent navigational information along the coast, with depth soundings, rocks, shoals, islands, and river inlets. Directional arrows show the ocean currents, including that of the Gulf Stream, noted at right. Inland detail is sparse, with the exception of St. John's River (here River St. Juan) and several notations regarding navigation along rivers. St. Mary's River is noted as the boundary between the United States and Spanish Florida. Three insets give more detail of the mouth of Nassau River, the mouth of St. Mary's River, and St. Augustine Harbor.

Although the map is credited to Captain N. Holland, no such hydrographer is known to exist. It is possible that the erroneous reference is to Samuel Holland, although William Wooldridge hypothesizes that "N. Holland" was simply added to lend credibility to the chart based on Samuel Holland's reputation. "N. Holland" is noted on several other charts by Laurie & Whittle, but the identity or attribution remains a mystery.

This map is quite scarce, as we have only found 3 examples of this map offered for sale in the last 30 years.

References: cf. Wooldridge (Virginia) pp. 221-223.

Condition: B

A dark impression, dissected and mounted onto archival rice paper. There is light offsetting and soiling, and a few minor abrasions. Trimmed close to the neatline all around the map.