Moll, Herman

A New and Exact Map of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain on ye Continent of North America. Containing Newfoundland, New Scotland, New England, New York, New Jersey, Pensilvania Maryland, Virginia and Carolina. according to the Newest and Most Exact Observations By Herman Moll Geographer. London: Thomas Bowles, John Bowles & Son, [after 1735]



2 sheets joined as one (40 1/2 x 24 3/4 in.; 1029 x 629 mm).  Partially handcolored in outline, cartouche of dedicatee handcolored, inset vignette of beavers building a dam near Niagara Falls, 4 geographical insets; one minor marginal tear, a fine bright copy.

Pritchard & Taliaferro, Degrees of Latitude 19 (state 5, printed from the original copperplate)

2 sheets joined as one (40 1/2 x 24 3/4 in.; 1029 x 629 mm). Partially handcolored in outline, cartouche of dedicatee hand-colored; one minor marginal tear.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Popularly dubbed the "Beaver Map," because of its striking inset of Niagara Falls with a colony of industrious beavers building a dam, Moll's celebrated map counts among the first and most important cartographic documents relating to the ongoing boundary disputes in North America between France and Great Britain. "The map was the primary cartographic exponent of the British position during the period immediately following the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713" (Pritchard & Taliaferro, Degrees of Latitude, p. 114).

Moll illustrated the eastern coast of North America from Newfoundland to South Carolina, and there are four insets: Louisiana, Carolina, Charleston, and North America. Moll includes several texts providing details about the Iroquois Indians, the treaty between the British and the French, and postal routes.

The beaver perfectly conveyed the spirit of North America: the animal was key to the fur trade and its industrious nature symbolized that those who were productive would control the land and garner wealth and prosperity. Moll borrowed the scene from Guerard's decorative vignette which first appeared in the "original" beaver map,  Nicolas de Fer's monumental wall map of America, published in 1698; but it is Moll's map that remains etched in collective memory.