MEAD, Braddock, alias John GREEN (c.1688-1757)]
A Map of the most Inhabited part of New England containing the Provinces of Massachusets [sic.] Bay and New Hampshire, with the Colonies of Conecticut and Rhode Island, Divided into Counties and Townships: The whole composed from Actual Surveys and its Situation adjusted by Astronomical Observations.
Copper plate engraved map with original hand color in full.
London: Thomas Jefferys, 1774.
21" x 39 5/8" sheet, 25 3/4" x 44 3/4" framed, each.

Comparable: Arader Galleries, 2017 - $10,370.

The most detailed map of New England produced during the British colonial period, vividly illustrating the strategic importance of New York. - FINEST True Original Color We Have Ever Seen.

The most detailed map of New England that had yet been published, this is one of the great maps of the east coast of America. Although New England is clearly its focus, it includes New York, Long Island and both shores of the Hudson River, the inland waterway serving the western lands of the northern colonies. It is a graphic argument for the strategic importance of New York in the struggle for independence.

The map was originally published in 1755, but went through six editions, remaining in wide distribution through 1779. This is the fifth state of the map, the state that appeared as part of Thomas Jefferys' monumental "The American Atlas" of 1775. Jefferys (1719-1771) was the leading British mapmaker and publisher of the mid-eighteenth century, and the pre-eminent British expert on North America. He became the geographer to the Prince of Wales in 1746 and then to King George III in 1760. His atlases were relied on by British and colonials alike throughout the war years, and influenced the work of all of the cartographers in this exhibition.

This map's maker, John Green, was an intriguing and larger-than-life figure who has been called "the genius behind Jefferys." Although his personal history was unsavory, Green (whose real name was Braddock Mead and who adopted his pseudonym to avoid prosecution for several crimes) was a cartographer of unusual ability, described by one modern scholar as "far in advance of his time." His map of New England is his best known and is among the most sought-after maps in American cartography.