[Map]. Blaeu, Willem Janzoon.

Nova Virginiae Tabula [Virginia and Chesapeake Bay].

Ex officina Guiljelmi Blaeuw: [1640].

Original double-page engraved map of Virginia (plate mark 484 x 380 mm), Dutch text to verso. Later hand-colouring. A bright example with no foxing, small patch of abrasion with loss of color to decorative scroll above scale (c.7 x 5 mm), penciled year "1640" by imprint; overall very good. Matted.

§ One of most important and influential 17th-century maps of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay, extending from Cape Henry in the south, to the Susquehanna River in the north, and the Appalachian Mountains in the west. It was first published by Dutch cartographer Willem Janszoon Blaeu in 1635, based on the landmark 1612 map of Virginia by Captain John Smith.

Unusually, the map is oriented to the west rather than north. Settlements, forests, mountains, and rivers are recorded in detail and a table explains the symbols. Decorative engravings depict the royal coat-of-arms of James VI of Scotland (James I of England), Chief Powhatan with other tribal members in his longhouse, as well as a Susquehannock Indian warrior.

Willem Blaeu (1571-1638) was one of the most important cartographers and publishers of the "Golden Age" of Dutch cartography. In 1635, he published his "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum sive Atlas Novus" in which this map appeared. After his death his two sons Cornelis and Joan took over the business. This map was published two years after his death. Item #127117

Price: $3,000.00