EVANS, Lewis (ca 1700-1756). Geographical, Historical, Political, Philosophical and Mechanical Essays. The First, Containing an Analysis of a General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America; And of the Country of the Confederate Indians: A Description of the Face of the Country; the Boundaries of the Confederates; and the Maritime and Inland Navigations of the several Rivers and Lakes contained therein . Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin and D. Hall, 1755.
EVANS, Lewis (ca 1700-1756). Geographical, Historical, Political, Philosophical and Mechanical Essays. The First, Containing an Analysis of a General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America; And of the Country of the Confederate Indians: A Description of the Face of the Country; the Boundaries of the Confederates; and the Maritime and Inland Navigations of the several Rivers and Lakes contained therein . Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin and D. Hall, 1755. 4 o (233 x 172 mm). 32 pages. LARGE ENGRAVED FOLDING MAP "A General Map of the Middle British Colonies" (500 x 670 mm platemark, 532 x 708 mm sheet). Modern red morocco; blue cloth folding case. "ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MAPS PUBLISHED IN AMERICA BEFORE INDEPENDENCE" (Schwartz and Ehrenberg) Second state of the map, with "The Lakes Cataraqui" added just north of Lake Ontario; second edition of the text, first issue, without the addition of the R. and J. Dodsley name and address in the imprint. The second edition of Evans's text is virtually a page-for-page resetting of the first edition with sub-titles added on pp. 6 and 11 and the numeral 2 inserted to the left of the signature on the directional line of the first two leaves of each quire. The map was issued both with and without the Analysis , in which Evans carefully acknowledges his sources. Evans's map was a masterpiece of cartographic synthesis, incorporating information from his own observation with that from the best available sources. His intense study of sources was distilled into this ambitious performance, which builds upon the work which had resulted in his Map of Pennsylvania, New-Jersey, New-York, and the three Delaware Counties of 1754. For Virginia, Evans consulted an early state of Fry and Jefferson's Map of the most inhabited part of Virginia and William Mayo's Map of the Northern Neck of Virginia . From the Fry and Jefferson, Evans adjusted the longitudinal position of the Potomac River and added the area claimed by the Ohio Company to Pennsylvania. He also consulted Walter Hoxton's Mapp of the Bay of Chesepeack, with the Rivers, Potomack, Potapasco, North East, and part of Chester for his delineation of Chesapeake Bay. His sources for Connecticut were the maps of William Douglas and Thomas Pownall (to whom Evans dedicates the map in the upper left panel). The map was eagerly anticipated by colonists who had heard rumors that Evans had amassed new information on the Ohio Valley, not available in John Mitchell's map of the same year. Mitchell was Evans's major competitor, and his A Map of the British and French Dominions had appeared five months before the Evans map. The differences in their border delineations exposed both to critical scrutiny, and Evans had the advantage due to the greater accuracy of his data. Mitchell's was also a more general map, and from the start Evans had set his emphasis on the Ohio Valley, the region that was the source of friction between England and France. The borders in the Evans map were based on much better information. But Mitchell had the benefit of official sanction: the Board of Trade and Plantations had sponsored his map. Evans was working without such support, and thus the official response to Evans's map was cautious. Nonetheless, the great detail and research which informed the Evans map assured its place as one of the most significant maps of the age, and those living in the Colonies recognized its accuracy. "The map evidently excited considerable interest in the Colonies, and, according to what Governor Pownall says in 1776, it was for a long time generally accepted as the standard authority for settling boundaries, purchases, etc., on account of the extreme care and accuracy with which it had been prepared" (Henry N. Stevens, Lewis Evans, His Map , p.6). It was published in eighteen editions between 1755 and 1814, and Thomas Kitchin and John Bowles both published pirated editions (in 1756 and 1765 respectively). Campbell 543; Church 1003; Evans 7412
EVANS, Lewis (ca 1700-1756). Geographical, Historical, Political, Philosophical and Mechanical Essays. The First, Containing an Analysis of a General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America; And of the Country of the Confederate Indians: A Description of the Face of the Country; the Boundaries of the Confederates; and the Maritime and Inland Navigations of the several Rivers and Lakes contained therein . Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin and D. Hall, 1755.
EVANS, Lewis (ca 1700-1756). Geographical, Historical, Political, Philosophical and Mechanical Essays. The First, Containing an Analysis of a General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America; And of the Country of the Confederate Indians: A Description of the Face of the Country; the Boundaries of the Confederates; and the Maritime and Inland Navigations of the several Rivers and Lakes contained therein . Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin and D. Hall, 1755. 4 o (233 x 172 mm). 32 pages. LARGE ENGRAVED FOLDING MAP "A General Map of the Middle British Colonies" (500 x 670 mm platemark, 532 x 708 mm sheet). Modern red morocco; blue cloth folding case. "ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MAPS PUBLISHED IN AMERICA BEFORE INDEPENDENCE" (Schwartz and Ehrenberg) Second state of the map, with "The Lakes Cataraqui" added just north of Lake Ontario; second edition of the text, first issue, without the addition of the R. and J. Dodsley name and address in the imprint. The second edition of Evans's text is virtually a page-for-page resetting of the first edition with sub-titles added on pp. 6 and 11 and the numeral 2 inserted to the left of the signature on the directional line of the first two leaves of each quire. The map was issued both with and without the Analysis , in which Evans carefully acknowledges his sources. Evans's map was a masterpiece of cartographic synthesis, incorporating information from his own observation with that from the best available sources. His intense study of sources was distilled into this ambitious performance, which builds upon the work which had resulted in his Map of Pennsylvania, New-Jersey, New-York, and the three Delaware Counties of 1754. For Virginia, Evans consulted an early state of Fry and Jefferson's Map of the most inhabited part of Virginia and William Mayo's Map of the Northern Neck of Virginia . From the Fry and Jefferson, Evans adjusted the longitudinal position of the Potomac River and added the area claimed by the Ohio Company to Pennsylvania. He also consulted Walter Hoxton's Mapp of the Bay of Chesepeack, with the Rivers, Potomack, Potapasco, North East, and part of Chester for his delineation of Chesapeake Bay. His sources for Connecticut were the maps of William Douglas and Thomas Pownall (to whom Evans dedicates the map in the upper left panel). The map was eagerly anticipated by colonists who had heard rumors that Evans had amassed new information on the Ohio Valley, not available in John Mitchell's map of the same year. Mitchell was Evans's major competitor, and his A Map of the British and French Dominions had appeared five months before the Evans map. The differences in their border delineations exposed both to critical scrutiny, and Evans had the advantage due to the greater accuracy of his data. Mitchell's was also a more general map, and from the start Evans had set his emphasis on the Ohio Valley, the region that was the source of friction between England and France. The borders in the Evans map were based on much better information. But Mitchell had the benefit of official sanction: the Board of Trade and Plantations had sponsored his map. Evans was working without such support, and thus the official response to Evans's map was cautious. Nonetheless, the great detail and research which informed the Evans map assured its place as one of the most significant maps of the age, and those living in the Colonies recognized its accuracy. "The map evidently excited considerable interest in the Colonies, and, according to what Governor Pownall says in 1776, it was for a long time generally accepted as the standard authority for settling boundaries, purchases, etc., on account of the extreme care and accuracy with which it had been prepared" (Henry N. Stevens, Lewis Evans, His Map , p.6). It was published in eighteen editions between 1755 and 1814, and Thomas Kitchin and John Bowles both published pirated editions (in 1756 and 1765 respectively). Campbell 543; Church 1003; Evans 7412
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
