Title: A New Map of Virginia Maryland And the Improved Parts of  Pennsylvania & New Jersey Most humbly Inscrib'd to the Right  Hon.ble the Earl of Orkney &ct. Knight of ye most Noble and Ancient Order of ye Thistle 1719. [underneath cartouche] Revised by J. Senex.
Third edition.

Scale: Bar scale indicates 70 miles.

Dimensions: Sheet 54.2 x 63.9 cm.; plate 48.7 x 56.1 cm.; image 48.5 x 55.2 cm. Engraving. Hand colored.

In: John Senex, A New General Atlas, London, 1721.

A New Map of Virginia, Maryland and the Improved Parts of Pennsylvania & New Jersey, 1721

In 1673, upon publication of his map, Augustine Herrman received a royal, fourteen year copyright, stating it was forbidden "to copy, epitomize, or reprint in whole or in part, any part of said map.... without consent of said Herrman, his heirs or assigns" (Mathews, p. 379). Despite the copyright the map was plagiarized almost immediately, first in 1676 in Speed's atlas (no.7), and many slightly modified and simplified editions followed. One of the most successful of the Herrman copies, in terms of longevity and beauty, was the one by Christopher Browne, published in 1685. The map shown here is the third edition of Browne's copy as revised by John Senex.

Clearly a simplified version of the Augustine Herrman map, this map lacks detail, particularly in the western part. An interesting change is the orientation, which is now to the north, as became common practice in the 18th century.

References
E. Mathews, 1898.

Return Home
 

Back

Continue