• Title : Carte Du Mexique et de la Floride des Terres Angloises et des Isles Antilles du Cours...1722
• Date : 1722
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref:  70814
• Size: 25 1/2in x 21 1/2in (650mm x 545mm)  

Description:
In the world of early 18th century American cartography, no one published as many landmark maps of North America as the French family firm of Delisle. This large original copper-plate engraved scarce map of North America became one of the most copied map of the next 100 years by the likes of Homann, Seutter, Lotter, Sanson and many others.
Re-engraved and published by Covens & Mortier in Amsterdam,  this map is the 5th state of seven, published in the Atlas Nouveau.

The 7 states outlined by Tooley are:
- State 1 (1703): De LIsles first address on Rue Des Canettes.
- State 2 (1703): address changed to Quai de lHorloge Couronne de Diamans and the imprint of Renard.
- State 3 (1708): Couronne de Diamans is erased and se trouve a Amsterdam chez L. Renard Libraire prez de la Bourse is added
- State 4 (1708): A Paris Chez L Auteur sur le Quai de l Horloge is added and Couronne de Diamans and Renards imprint are removed and the engravers name (Simoneau) appears below the cartouche.
- State 5 (1722): A Amsterdam Chez Jean Covens & Corneille Mortier avec Privilege 1722 Re-engraved and published by Covens & Mortier in Atlas Nouveau
- State 6 (1745): Philippe Buache imprint added below neatline at right.
- State 7 (1783): Title altered to Carte du Mexique et des Etas Unis d Amerique, Partie Meridionale, issued by Dezauche, showing US States and boundaries.

Condition Report
Paper thickness and quality: - Very heavy and stable
Paper colour: - Off white
Age of map colour: - Original & later
Colours used: - Yellow, green, pink, blue
General colour appearance: - Fresh
Paper size: - 25 1/2in x 21 1/2in (650mm x 545mm)  
Plate size: - 24in x 19 1/2in (610mm x 495mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (10mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Light age toning in bottom margin
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background:
The importance of this landmark map by Guillaume Delisle cannot be overstated. It was the first map to accurately depict the course and mouth of the Mississippi River. Much of the map was drawn from reports brought back to France from the survivor's of the La Salle expedition into the interior of North America and from information derived from the explorations of Bienville and d'Iberville. In the year preceding the publication of the map, Delisle utilised his position with the King of France to gain access to the best available information from the new world.
During this time, he compiled the geographical data from the reports of the French Jesuit Missionaries and explorer's in North America, along with Spanish manuscript maps (often copied by the Missionaries while they were acting in the service of the Spanish as spiritual guides and gaining their confidence). The result of this work were a series of 4 landmark maps of America, including his map of North America (L'Amerique Septentrionale, 1700), Canada and the Great Lakes (Carte du Canada ou de la Nouvelle France 1703) and the Mississippi Valley & Gulf Coast (Carte de la Louisiane et du Cours du Mississipi 1708) and of course this map.
Carl Wheat called this map a "towering  landmark along the path of Western cartographic development." De L'Isle's map also inlcuded greater accuracy in the Great Lakes region and in its depiction of English settlements along the East Coast. Excellent detail of the Indian villages in East Texas, based upon the reports of Iberville and the Spanish missionaries. The best depiction of the Southwest to date, with early trails & Indian tribes. Cumming described the map as "profoundly influential. This is a beautifully engraved and hand coloured map by one of the finest French cartographers of the 18th century. (Ref: Cummings; M&B; Tooley) 

• Title : Carte Des Antilles Francois et des Isles Voisines....
• Ref #:  61038
• Size: 25 1/2in x 21 1/2in (650mm x 545mm)
• Date : 1725
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description: 
This large beautifully hand coloured original antique map of The West Indian Islands of the Antilles - from Guadeloupe to Granada - by Guillaume de L'Isle was published by Covens & Mortier in 1725 .

Condition Report
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - Off white
Age of map color: - Original 
Colors used: - Yellow, green, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: -  25 1/2in x 21 1/2in (650mm x 545mm)
Plate size: - 23 1/2in x 18in (600mm x 460mm)
Margins: - min. 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Light age toning in margins
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background: This map covers the predominately French portion of the West Indies from Guadeloupe to Grenada, including the Grenadines, St. Vincent, Dominica, St. Lucia (Alouise), Barbados, Martinique, and Marie-Galante, among others.
As the title cartouche suggests, Delisle cartographically derived this map almost exclusively from a manuscript produced by Thimothee Peitit, 'Arpenteur Jure de la Martinique' (Royal Surveyor of Martinique). Petit had the challenging task of reconciling local surveys of various islands with the general geography of the West Indies. Delisle copied from Petit's manuscript almost verbatim, a fact that is poignantly illustrated in the erroneous positioning of Grenada, which is both upside-down and situated to the west, rather than to the south, of the lower Grenadines. On Petit's part, this error has been attributed to simply running out of paper combined with an attempt to show the French Antilles within the greater continuity of the Windward Isles. For Delisle this was a major and uncharacteristic misstep that earned considerable critique in scientific and cartographic circles. Nonetheless, this map proved both popular and influential, being slavishly copied extensively by other cartographers of the period (Ref: M&B; Tooley)   

• Title : L Amerique Septentrionale dressee sur les Observations de Mrs. De L Academie Royale des Sciences & quelques autres & sur les Memoires les plus recens Par G De L Isle A. Amsterdam Chez I Covens & C Mortier Avec Privilege.
• Ref #:  93501-1
• Size: 25 1/2in x 21 1/2in (650mm x 540mm)
• Date : 1700 (1730)
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This is without doubt one of the most important foundation maps, of North America, published in the early to mid 18th century. This large original hand coloured copper-plate engraved antique map by Johannes Covens & Pierre Mortier, after Guillaume Delisle, that was published in 1730 in Atlas nouveau de dicerses cartes choisies des Meilleurs Geographes comme Sanson, G De Lisle &c....A Amsterdam.....
The first edition of this map was mistakenly dedicated to Nicolas Sanson, in the title. This oversight was corrected to Delisle in this 1730 edition.
This map is beautiful with original borders beautiful hand colouring on heavy stable paper.

Covens & Mortier (fl 1721-1866) was an eighteenth century cartographic publishing house. The company was founded by Johannes Covens (1697-1774) and Cornelis Mortier (1699-1783) and was located in Vijgendam in Amsterdam .
The collaboration between the two men began after the death of Pieter Mortier (1661-1711), son of a French political refugee. In 1690, Mortier obtained the privilege of distributing maps and atlases from French publishers, in the Netherlands . His widow continued business until his death in 1719 . His son Cornelis took over the business, under the name of his father.
In November 1721 Cornelis Mortier founded a company with Johannes Covens I. He was married in the same year to Corneliss sister. Thus the company of Covens & Mortier was born.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original & later
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 25 1/2in x 21 1/2in (650mm x 540mm)
Plate size: - 23in x 19in (585mm x 490mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None

Background:
There are many reasons why this rare 1st edition foundation map is important. It contains detail of radical changes both to the interior of North America and helps debunk many fundamentally held ideas of the coastlines. Some of these ideas included The Great lakes, California as an island and previously invented ideas of the interior, NW & NE coastlines.
Specifically the shape of the Great Lakes are changed based on information from the great Italian cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli.
The Mississippi valley is well developed with recent French settlement of d\\\'Iberville at Bilochy and the forts at Bon Secours and St Louis. The map also corrects the error of the western swing of the lower part of the Mississippi River, moving its mouth to essentially its correct position on the Gulf of Mexico.
Delisle has also corrected longitude positions and was the first to revert to a peninsular form for California. He stops his western coast at Cape Mendocin and is the first map to show the Saragossa Sea.
The map also illustrates the routes of explorers such as Cortez, Drake, D\\\'Olivier, Gaeten and Mendana, and indicates the locates of a number of Indian tribes, including the Apaches.
As this is a French map we see many of the French strong points in the NE such as Tadousac, Quebec, Fort Sorel, Montreal & Fort Frontenac included. The English settlements are confined to the east of the Alleghenies, with Fort and River Kinibeki as the border between New England and Arcadia.
Such was the improvement of this map, and the sterling reputation of Delisle, that within a few years other publishers issued their own copies of the map, which continued to appear until the 1780s. The importance of this map cannot be overstated in the progression of American cartography. (Ref: M&B; Tooley)