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MAP #: 276A5

CARTOGRAPHER : AITKEN, ROBERT

DATE: 1776

SHORT TITLE : MAP OF THE MARITIME PARTS OF VIRGINIA

REMAINING TITLE & ID : EXHIBITING THE SEAT OF WAR AND OF Ld. DUNSMORE'S DEPREDATIONS, IN THAT COLONY. (OVAL CARTOUCHE IN BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER). "P.E.D. DELINt." [PIERRE EUGENE DU SIMITIERE] (BETWEEN OUTSIDE LINES OF CARTOUCHE ON LEFT SIDE). "R.A. SCULP." [ROBERT AITKEN] (BETWEEN OUTSIDE LINES OF CARTOUCHE ON RIGHT SIDE). "FOR THE PENNSA. MAG. P. 184." (RIGHT BOTTOM MARGIN). SCALE OF 30 MILES (BELOW CARTOUCHE). FOUR POINTED COMPASS ROSE WITH NORTH AT THE TOP (CENTER RIGHT). LONGITUDE AND LATITUDE (NOT SHOWN).

DATE OF PUBLICATION : S1776
PLACE OF PUBLICATION : PHILADELPHIA
PUBLISHER : THE PENNSYLVANIA MAGAZINE
LANGUAGE(S) : EN
SIZE (HEIGHT X WIDTH) : 24.7 X 27.5 CM.
SIZE - OTHER DATA : ? X ? CM. OM
SCALE - (RF) 1: : 690,000
SCALE - OTHER DATA : 7.0 CM. = 30 MILES
LIB. OF CONGRESS # : -
Md. HALL OF RECORDS # 1 : MSA SC1399-252
HUNTINGFIELD ACQ. # 1 : A019-TG2Q*
REGION CATEGORY : DETAILED MAP OF SOME PORTION OF THE MD/CHESAPEAKE AREA (2)
SPECIAL CATEGORY(IES) : FRY & JEFFERSON AND DERIVATIVES (15)
# SHEETS TO MAP : 1
MAP ORIENTATION : N IS AT THE TOP OF THE MAP
RELIEF SHOWN ? : NO
HYDROGRAPHIC DATA : NONE
CARTOUCHE : SIMPLE LINE FRAME (2)
BORDER : PLAIN (2)
PRIME MERIDIAN(S) : NONE
SEE ALSO MAP #s : -
BEST INFO SOURCE : VERNER'S STUDY IN IMAGO MUNDI XVI IS BY FAR THE BEST.
DESCRIPTION : THIS MAP IS SIGNIFICANT ONLY BECAUSE IT IS APPARENTLY THE FIRST SEPARATE MAP OF VIRGINIA PUBLISHED IN THE COLONIES. THE MAP COVERS FROM TANGIERS ISLAND IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY IN THE NORTH TO BELOW CAPE HENRY IN THE SOUTH, AND FROM CITY COUNTY IN THE WEST TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN IN THE EAST. THE ENGRAVING IS COARSE AND CRUDELY EXECUTED. THE MAP IS SUCH A CLOSE COPY OF THE FRY & JEFFERSON MAP (SEE MAP # 253F5) THAT IT MAY HAVE BEEN FROM A TRACING. THERE ARE MINOR DIFFERENCES IN THE LOCATION & SIZE OF THE LETTERING OF NAMES. THIS MAP WAS NOT AS INCLUSIVE AS TO NAMES, COUNTIES, RESIDENCES OR ROADS AS IN THE FRY & JEFFERSON, NOR ARE THE LOCATIONS IDENTICAL. SINCE IT IS SUCH A CLOSE COPY, IT CONTRIBUTED NOTHING GEOGRAPHICALLY OR CARTOGRAPHICALLY TO THE HISTORY OF VIRGINIA OR OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY.

THE MAP APPEARED ON PAGE 184 OF THE APRIL ISSUE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA MAGAZINE. VOLUME I OF THE MAGAZINE INCLUDED JANUARY-DECEMBER, 1775 ISSUES. THE MAP WAS IN VOLUME II, WHICH INCLUDED JANUARY-JULY, 1776. COMPLETE SETS OF THE MAGAZINE ARE RARE. THE MAP ACCOMPANIED A SHORT THREE-COLUMN UNSIGNED ARTICLE ENTITLED "SOME ACCOUNT OF THE COLONY OF VIRGINIA". THE PENNSYLVANIA MAGAZINE WAS THE BRAINCHILD OF JOHN AITKEN. IT WAS PUBLISHED ONLY FROM JANUARY 1775 THROUGH JULY 1776. THE JULY 1776 ISSUE INCLUDES THE FIRST MAGAZINE PRINTING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. THE MAGAZINE WAS EDITED BY THOMAS PAINE AND PUBLISHED BY JOHN AITKEN. DR. JOHN WITHERSPOON, A SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, WAS PROBABLY THE MOST FAITHFUL CONTRIBUTER NEXT TO PAINE.

AITKEN WAS NO ARTIST AND DEPENDED ON OTHERS TO PREPARE THE DRAFTS OF HIS ENGRAVINGS. THE MAP WAS DRAWN BY PIERRE EUGENE DU SIMITIERE. HE WAS BORN IN GENEVA AROUND 1736 AND DIED IN PHILADELPHIA IN 1784. HE WAS NATURALIZED IN NEW YORK ON 20 MAY 1769 AND SPENT MOST OF HIS REMAINING LIFE IN PHILADELPHIA. HE WAS CONSIDERED THE FOUNDER OF THE FIRST MUSEUM IN THE U.S.

AITKEN, WHO ENGRAVED AND PUBLISHED THE MAP, WAS BORN IN DALKEITH, SCOTLAND IN 1734. IN 1771 HE OPENED A SHOP AS A BOOKSELLER AND BINDER IN PHILADELPHIA AND IN 1774 BECAME A PRINTER. IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR PERIOD, HE WAS ONE OF THE LEADING PUBLISHERS SUPPORTING THE COLONISTS. HE DIED IN 1802.

A COMPREHENSIVE ARTICLE ABOUT THE MAP AND THE MAGAZINE IS FOUND IN IMAGO MUNDI, XVI, PP. 152-156 BY COOLIE VERNER. IT IS FROM THAT ARTICLE THAT THIS DESCRIPTION IS TAKEN, PLUS FROM OBSERVATION OF THE COPY OF VOLUME II OF THE MAGAZINE IN THE HUNTINGFIELD COLLECTION.

EDITION & STATE INFO : ONLY A SINGLE EDITION AND STATE OF THE MAP IS KNOWN TO EXIST.

HFC OWNERSHIP DATA : THE HUNTINGFIELD COLLECTION HAS A COPY OF THIS MAP IN VOLUME II OF THE PENNSYLVANIA MAGAZINE IN BLACK AND WHITE. IT IS IN FAIRLY GOOD CONDITION, WITH SOME DISCOLORATION IN THE EASTERN MARGIN. THE MAGAZINE IS BOUND IN ITS ORIGINAL BOARDS. THE HUNTINGFIELD COPY IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT WAS OWNED BY DR. JOHN WITHERSPOON, WHO SIGNED IT IN INK IN THE FRONT. WITHERSPOON WAS, AFTER THOMAS PAINE, THE MOST FREQUENT CONTRIBUTOR TO THE MAGAZINE AND A SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. THE MAP HAS AN ACQ. # OF A019-TG2Q* AND A MDHR # OF MSA SC1399-252.

BIBLIGRAPHICAL REFS. : VERNER, COOLIE, "THE AITKEN MAP OF VIRGINIA", IN IMAGO MUNDI XVI, AMSTERDAM: IMAGO MUNDI, LTD., 1962: 152-156; MOTT, FRANK LUTHER, A HISTORY OF AMERICAN MAGAZINES 1741- 1850, CAMBRIDGE, MASS: 1939, 89; RICHARDSON, LYON W., A HISTORY OF EARLY AMERICAN MAGAZINES 1741-1789, NEW YORK, 1931; SABIN, JOSEPH, A DICTIONARY OF BOOKS RELATING TO AMERICA FROM ITS DISCOVERY TO THE PRESENT TIME, NEW YORK: JOSEPH SABIN, 1868-1936: # 60346; WHEAT, JAMES CLEMENTS & CHRISTIAN BRUN, MAPS AND CHARTS PUBLISHED IN AMERICA BEFORE 1800 A BIBLIOGRAPHY, LONDON: THE HOLLAND PRESS LIMITED, 1978 REPRINT OF A 1967 YALE UNIVERSITY VOLUME: 118, # 540; PHILLIPS, PHILIP LEE,A LIST OF MAPS OF AMERICA IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, NEW YORK: BURT FRANKLIN, UNDATED REPRINT OF A 1901 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PUBLICATION: 983; VERNER, COOLIE, [UNPUBLISHED] NOTES ON THE MAPS OF VIRGINIA; SWEM, EARL G., MAPS RELATING TO VIRGINIA IN THE VIRGINIA STATE LIBRARY, RICHMOND: VIRGINIA STATE LIBRARY, 1989 REPRINT, REPUBLISHED AS A BOOK: # 243; JOLLY, DAVID C., MAPS OF AMERICA IN PERIODICALS BEFORE 1800, BROOKLINE, MASS: DAVID C. JOLLY, 1989: # 299.

March 12, 1991


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