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Fine example of Bowen's fascinating broadside map of the Atlantic, which includes a table comparing the chart with Henry Popple's great Map of the British Empire in America, first issued in 1740.
Includes marvelous details concerning the various sailing routes of Spain and England to their various territorial possessions in the New World, along with notes regarding the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Carolinas and extensive annotations and notes regarding the British Colonies in North America and the currents of the Atlantic.
While pre-dating the Engish "discovery" of the Gulf Stream, it is clear that the quest to understand the currents in the Atlantic. The note at the top reads:
The middle of ye Ocean is at rest. The currents are only towards the Coasts & Commonly regulated by yet Winds. Without the Trade Winds the Seas is subject to Variable Winds (tho usually all Wind reigns there) & Storms. Within those Limits it is generally very Calm & ye Windsas well as Currents regular, whidch makes sailing extremely safe and pleasant: for this reason the usual Course to Virginia lies so much to the Southward.
Emanuel Bowen (1694?-1767) was a British engraver and print seller. He was most well-known for his atlases and county maps. Although he died in poverty, he was widely acknowledged for his expertise and was appointed as mapmaker to both George II of England and Louis XV of France. His business was carried on by his son, Thomas Bowen. He also trained many apprentices, two of whom became prominent mapmakers, Thomas Kitchin and Thomas Jeffreys.
![West India Islands [Curacao, Trinidad, Grenada and Tobago] [4 maps on 1 sheet]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/48137.jpg)
