1774 The Coast of West Florida and Louisiana & The Peninsula and Gulf of Florida...
DESCRIPTION
A cornerstone of British cartographic achievement in North America during the late colonial period, synthesizing the latest surveys following the Seven Years’ War and Britain’s acquisition of Florida and the Gulf Coast to the Mississippi.
This impressive large-format sea chart, issued by Thomas Jefferys, Geographer to the King, in 1774, presents one of the most detailed and authoritative eighteenth century renderings of the Gulf Coast, Florida, and the Bahamas. Published in Jefferys’ monumental The American Atlas, the map is here joined from its two separate sheets, combining The Coast of West Florida and Louisiana with The Peninsula and Gulf of Florida or Channel of Bahama with the Bahama Islands.
Examining the Map: Western Sheet
The western sheet traces the Gulf Coast from the Mississippi Delta eastward, with exceptional attention given to the complex hydrography of Louisiana. The branching passes of the Mississippi River are carefully delineated, including “The Balize,” while Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and the surrounding bayous are rendered with notable precision. Settlements such as New Orleans appear alongside smaller regional references, including Biloxi and Mobile. The coastline continues east through Pensacola and St. Joseph Bay, with soundings, shoals, and seabed notations such as “gray mud,” “coarse sand,” and “oozy ground” providing critical navigational and early insight on the coastal region of present-day Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle.
Examining the Map: Eastern Sheet
The eastern sheet centers on the Florida peninsula, presenting a refined and highly legible depiction of both coasts and the interior. Along the Gulf, Tampa Bay is identified as the “Bay of Spiritu Santo,” while farther south the distinct “Spiritu Santo Lagoon” appears inland just above the designation “Ancient Tegesta,” marking the Everglades and preserving an early reference to the indigenous Tequesta. Northward, the Apalachee region is clearly defined, with St. Marks and its fort shown near the river mouth. On the Atlantic side, St. Augustine is prominently located with its coastal approaches, while the St. Johns River extends deep into the peninsula, forming one of its most significant inland features. Offshore, the Florida Keys and the Bahamas are rendered with exceptional precision, with individual islands, banks, and shoals carefully delineated.
State and Rarity of the Map(s)
The present example is the second state of the map, distinguished by the naming of the Bay of Spiritu Santo at the mouth of the Mississippi and the inclusion of additional notes regarding the shallow, island-strewn nature of the surrounding waters. Jefferys’ West India Atlas quickly surpassed earlier works such as Mount and Page’s English Pilot, Fourth Book, becoming the standard reference for navigation in the region. Complete joined examples are increasingly scarce, as the maps were originally issued separately and often remain so, making well-preserved examples such as this uncommon on the market.
CONDITION
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