Smith, John, Capt.:

$12,000 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

NEW ENGLAND. DIE MERCKLICHSTEN DHEILE... AUS GEZEICHNET UND BESCHRIEBEN DURCH HAUBTMAN JOHAN SCMIDT. The rare Hulsius edition – the earliest obtainable edition – of one of the legendary early maps of Colonial America: "the foundation map of New England cartography, the one that gave [New England] its name and the first devoted to the region" (Burden 187).After a period of inactivity following his Virginia escapades, Captain John Smith was invited by four London merchants to explore the coastline north of Virginia, with instructions to return with a profitable cargo. Smith arrived off the Kennebec River with two ships in May 1614. One of his ships concentrated on catching fish and gathering other valuable commodities, while he continued down the coast to chart and explore. Smith immediately recognized the poor state of the existing cartography for the region. He noted that he had six or seven maps "of those northern parts, so unlike each to other, and most so differing from any true proportion, or resemblance of the Countrey, as they did me no more good, then so much waste paper."Returning to England in December 1615, Smith had the map published with his A Description of New England in June 1616. According to a legend on the map, much of the nomenclature was provided by Charles, Prince of Wales, the future Charles I. Several of these placenames are still in use, including Cape Anne, Charles River, and Plymouth.The decorative elements were engraved by the outstanding Dutch engr

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