Virginiae partis australis, et Floridae partis orientalis, interjacentiumque regionum Nova Descriptio

Copper engraved map, outlined in colour, from "Atlas Major", coat-of-arms of France and Britain, decorative title cartouche, scales adorned with pucci, ocean embellished with three ships, compass rose, central vertical fold, Latin text to verso, wide margins, overall size 470 x 595mm 1666

A large decorative map of the historic territories of Virginia and Florida, covering the region from present day Florida to Chesapeake Bay, including the States of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia. Chesapeake Bay is shown in some detail, following John Smith's exploration of the region. There are two fictional lakes around the Apalachian Mountains. The work pays particular attention to the interests of the French and British, both marked by their own coat of arms. The British as ruler of the northeast with the French claiming the southern portion of this land. The French territory of present day Georgia, rests on the claims prior to being forced out by the Spanish in the 1560s.

The work is the culmination of the many cases of duplication by the firms Blaeu and Hondius of each others work. Chesapeake Bay was depicted as just a small bay on Jocodus Hondius' 1606 map as John Smith was yet to explore these waters. Blaeu utilised Smith's map in updating his own in 1638. The Blaeu contributed to this maps great improvement over the earlier Hondius 1606. An attractive example of Dutch cartography.

Koeman, Burden, Cummins