America - America - California as an Island; John Speed - America with those known parts in that unknowne worlde both people and manner of buildings described - 1661-1680

John Speed, America with those known parts in that unknowne worlde both people and manner of buildings described and inlarged by I. S. Ano Dom. 1626

London, 1676

Decorative example of John Speed’s famous 1676 edition of his landmark America map, the first atlas map to depict California as an island and to accurately portray the East Coast of North America. Engraved by Abraham Goos for A Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World, the map includes detailed coastlines, early English colonies such as Jamestown and Plymouth, and inset maps of Greenland and Iceland. The borders are richly adorned with vignettes of native peoples from the Americas and city views across the top, while galleons and sea monsters animate the surrounding oceans. The depiction of California as an island reflects a long-standing 17th-century cartographic myth, originating from Spanish reports and perpetuated by European mapmakers until the mid-18th century, when explorers like Father Kino and Guillaume De L’Isle finally proved it to be a peninsula.

Dimensions: 39 x 51 cm (engraving), 41,5 x 53,4 cm (paper).

The map has been professionally restored in the corners and center, and some sections have been redrawn. On the reverse are remnants of white acid-free paper where the map was mounted in a mat. See the photos for a good impression.

Attention for US buyers: Due to recent postal restrictions shipping to the US can only be done by DHL, therefore higher shipping costs apply!