Visscher, Schenk - Novi Belgii Novaeque Angliae nec non partis Virginiae Tabula...

Novi Belgii Novaeque Angliae nec non partis Virginiae Tabula multis in locis emendata, Peter Schenk after Nicolaes Visscher, Amsterdam, 1729 or later, vibrantly hand colored engraving on laid paper, plate 18-3/8 x 21-7/8 in., sheet 22-1/8 x 26 in.; in modern parcel gilt frame, 30-1/2 x 33-1/8 x 7/8 in.

Provenance: Martayan Lan Augustyn, Inc., 2002; Private Collection

Note: The inclusion of "Petr. Schenk Iun:" in the cartouche indicates this map is fifth state.

For more information, see Margaret Beck Pritchard and Henry G. Taliaferro, Degrees of Latitude (2002), pp. 86-89, no. 11.

Note: Nicholas Visscher’s widely distributed map was the first to contain the famous inset view of New Amsterdam, the third known engraved view of New York. An important geographical feature of this map is that a significant error contained within the map influenced the outcome of the dispute between Cecil Calvert, Second Baron Baltimore, and William Penn. Lord Baltimore's 1632 charter for Maryland granted him land that included territory that would eventually become Delaware, provided that it had not been settled by people other than Native Americans. Immediately after Penn received his grant from Charles II in 1681, he disputed Lord Baltimore’s belief that his charter included the east side of the Delmarva Peninsula because it had been previously settled by the Dutch and Swedes.

Following decades of unsuccessful attempts to negotiate a resolution between the two proprietors, Charles Calvert, Third Baron Baltimore, and Penn’s heirs, John, Thomas, and Richard Penn, met in London in 1732 and drafted and signed the Articles of Agreement which specified the precise geographical locations upon which to establish the border. Both parties submitted maps to be consulted during the negotiations. Lord Baltimore insisted upon using Visscher’s map in the negotiations, regarding it as a trusted source since it had been given to him by one of his agents in Maryland.

Unfortunately for Lord Baltimore, Visscher incorrectly placed the location of Cape Henlopen farther south than it actually was, resulting in the loss of thousands of acres of land for Lord Baltimore. It is possible that Penn was aware of the error in Visscher’s map. Penn’s copy of Visscher’s map survives in the John Work Garrett Library at Johns Hopkins University. On the reverse, in William Penn’s hand, is the endorsement "The Map by which the privy Council 1685 settled the Bounds between the Lord Baltimore & I, & Maryland & Pennsylvania & Territories or annexed Countys. WP."