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Description

A very rare Revolutionary War map centered on the Mid-Atlantic colonies, which appeared as a supplement to an issue of the British published periodical Courier de L¹Europe.

The present map employs a curious angular projection, and is centered on New York and the Hudson Valley, but extends from the upper reaches of Chesapeake Bay in the southwest, to Boston in the northeast. All significant towns and each county are labelled, while major roads and intercolonial boundaries are delineated. Issued in 1777, the map provides the viewer with a fine overview of the geography and transport corridors of what was then the main theater of the American Revolution.

Since the British invasion of New York City in the late-summer of 1776, the focus of the conflict had shifted from Massachusetts to New York and New Jersey, and would shortly be gravitating to Pennsylvania. Many of the places shown, along with many of the roads depicted on the map, played a central role in events of the American Revolution that had already occured, or were to about to transpire in the near future. The inset in the upper-left places the Thirteen American colonies within their greater geographical context.

The Courier de L¹Europe was a Franco-British bi-weekly periodical published from 1776 to 1792, successively in London, then Boulogne-sur-Mer, and then again in London. Initially, this newspaper, which began at the time of the first actions of the War of American Independence, made light of French intervention and gave excellent information on military operations and their effect on Britain. Importantly, it was the first newspaper to publish the Declaration of Independence for a French-speaking audience.

The present example, which was dissected and laid on linen at a very early date, appeared as a "Supplement" to the issue of the Courier de L'Europe, no. XXXII, vol. II, and was never bound into the magazine, so accounting for the low survival rate of the map.

A later Swedish language edition of the map exists and is entitled "Krigs Theatren I America 1777 | Seat of War in America 1777". The nomenclature is in English, but there are many small differences, such that it is clear that the two editions were not produced from the same plate.

The map is very rare. We are aware of only the copy in the Library of Congress and 1 copy which appeared at auction in the past 10 years.

Condition Description
Dissected and laid on linen.
Reference
McCorkle, 'New England in Early Printed Maps', no.777.21; Sellers & Van Ee, 'Maps of North America & West Indies', no.731.