A MAP OF/ VIRGINIA/ AND/ MARYLAND

Date1676

Cartographer John Speed (1552-1629)

Engraver Francis Lamb (1651 - 1700)

After work by Captain John Smith (1580-1631)

Retailed by Thomas Bassett (fl. 1659 - 1693)

Retailed by Richard Chiswell (1639 - 1711)

OriginEngland, London

MediumBlack and white line engraving with period color

DimensionsOH: 21 5/16" x OW: 16 1/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2017-56

DescriptionThis is a derivative of Captain John Smith's map if Virginia - Derivative 9.

The cartouche reads: "A MAP OF/ VIRGINIA/ AND/ MARYLAND./ Sold by Thomas Basset in Fleet Street,/ and Richard Chiswell in S.t Pauls/ Church yard."

The scale reads: "A Scale of English Miles"

The bottom left corner reads: "F. Lamb sculp."
Label TextThis map is oriented with north to the right, thus the Chesapeake Bay reads from left to right. The westernmost part of Virginia is depicted as Henrico County and the mountains are illustrated farther west. The southern most part illustrates the Albemarle and the northern landmark just north of Baltimore is the "Sassquahana forte". At the very bottom of the map is a small portion of New Jersey.

This map shows the influence of two prototype maps: the John Smith and the Augustine Herrman map. The delineation of the land is much like Smith's map. However, the nomenclature is nearly identical to that of Augustine Herrman. The shape of the Atlantic coastline and the double row of trees, indicating the Maryland and Virginia boundary (established in 1668) are based on the Herrman map.

In 1627 Speed published "The Theatre of the Empire", the first English general atlas printed. It contained 22 maps and was reissued in 1631, 1646, and 1662. It was reprinted in 1676 with the addition of the following maps:
Virginia and Maryland
New York and New England
Jamaica and Barbados
Carolina
East Indies
Russia
Palestine

This copy is published in William C. Wooldridge, "Mapping Virginia: from the Age of Exploration to the Civil War" (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012), pp. 48-51, #43.