"Course of the River Mississipi [sic], from the Balise to Fort Chartres..."

map by Lieutenant John Ross of the 34th Regiment,
engraved and published with hand-colored outlines by Robert Sayer and John Bennett, London, 1775.
Matted, glazed and framed.
plate 45" x 14", framed 55" x 25-1/4"

Provenance: Sold in these rooms as part of the map collection of Hugo Wedemeyer, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 17, 2018, lot 952; Private collection, Alabama.

Notes: This map was the first official English survey of the lower Mississippi region, published at the outset of the American Revolution in Thomas Jefferys' watershed American Atlas by Sayer and Bennett. It was commissioned by the British government in 1765 to illustrate the scope of the economical and strategical gains it acquired in the French and Indian War. Lieutenant John Ross, a distinguished member of the 34th Regiment of Foot, who served in the siege of Havana and garrison of West Florida, charted the lower Mississippi River from the mouth of the Mississippi (Fort Belise) just south of New Orleans north to Fort Chartres, just south of St. Louis. Ross' map depicts the River's course in excellent detail with comprehensive information on boundaries, forts, villages, arable lands and cane fields, as well as navigational data on the depths and soundings of the Mississippi and Gulf for approaching ships. To date, it is one of the most important maps of the late 18th century in terms of cartography and American colonial history.

In overall good condition. Toning throughout with faint tide lines to left border, not in plate. Scattered faint foxing. Light soiling/accretions lower left and mid-center. A 3" tear at lower left, not in plate. A 4-1/4" tear perforating plate edge at lower right. Scattered losses to paper edges. Creasing at original folds. All consistent with age and material.

55 x 25.25 in