{"product_id":"13279","title":"1774 The Coast of West Florida and Louisiana \u0026 The Peninsula and Gulf of Florida...","description":"\u003cp\u003eA 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis 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 \u003cem\u003eThe American Atlas,\u003c\/em\u003e 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eExamining the Map: Western Sheet\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eExamining the Map: Eastern Sheet\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eState and Rarity of the Map(s)\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"New World Cartographic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43120551919677,"sku":"13279","price":4500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0390\/9705\/files\/13279a.jpg?v=1776798513","url":"https:\/\/nwcartographic.com\/products\/13279","provider":"New World Cartographic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}