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A mint, separately issued example of the earliest full-size derivative of Captain John Smith’s foundational map of Virginia. We have not seen a finer example of this map. Of the many editions and derivatives of Smith's Virginia, this one most closely resembles the original in size and content, differing from it in only a few minor details. Smith conducted the first surveys of the Chesapeake Bay in two expeditions of 1608 and 1609. These remarkable, seminal surveys resulted in this generally quite accurate map. It was also one of the earliest maps to directly acknowledge the contributions of Native Americans. A note on the map states that Maltese Crosses indicate areas based on Indian reports. A study of this map suggested that embedded within it is a strategy employed by tribes of the area to contain English expansion, in the sense that the Maltese Crosses also demarcate the outer limits of where the English would be permitted. In this German edition of the map, there is an unusual instance of cross-fertilization of influence. It was published in Book XIII of Theodore De Bry's Grands Voyages, the magnificent work illustrating the customs and mores of various North American Indian cultures. It was from earlier volumes of this work that this map's illustrations of the Indian figure on the right and Powhatan in council in the upper left were derived. Burden 219; Tooley, Mapping of America, pp. 163-4, Derivative 3; cf. Morrison et al, On the Map, Figure 7.Virginia/ Chesapeake Bay. SMITH, CAPT. JOHN/ MERIAN, M. [Frankfurt, 1627] Virginia Erforshet und beschriben durch Captain Iohan Schmidt. 11 1/2 x 14 1/8 inches. Fine condition-- sheet with untrimmed, deckled edges on two sides and a strong printing impression.
Price: $8,500.00