FRY, JOSHUA AND PETER JEFFERSON

Map sectioned and mounted on linen in original marbled board slipcase with contemporary manuscript label (map 49 x 31 in.; 124.5 x 78.7 cm). Engraved by Thomas Jefferys, partially handcolored in outline, cartouche by Charles Grignion after Francis Hayman depicting a wharf scene with slaves crating tobacco into barrels, some faint spotting and soiling to linen backing, but a lovely example; case a bit rubbed and faded

Duke of Northumberland (bookplates to case and on map verso)

Cumming, The Southeast in Early Maps, no.281; Pritchard & Taliaferro, Degrees of Latitude, no.30; Schwartz & Ehrenberg, Mapping of America, p.157-158; Coolie Verner, "The Fry and Jefferson Map" in Imago Mundi, 21, 1967, pp.74-94

Map sectioned and mounted on linen in original marbled board slipcase with contemporary manuscript label (map 49 x 31 in.; 1245 x 787 mm). Engraved by Thomas Jefferys, partially handcolored in outline, cartouche by Charles Grignion after Francis Hayman depicting a wharf scene with slaves crating tobacco into barrels; some faint spotting and soiling to linen backing, but a lovely example; case a bit rubbed and faded.
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.

The first printed map of Virginia by Virginians. Thomas Jefferson boasted in his autobiography that his father's collaboration with Joshua Fry produced the "first map of Virginia which has ever been made, that of Captain Smith being merely a conjectural sketch." Of the first state only two copies are recorded (at the New York Public Library and the Alderman Library of the University of Virginia) and states 2, 3, and 4 are also of extreme rarity. This very fine example represents Verner's 4th state. Fry and Jefferson's map dominated cartographical representations of Virginia until nearly the nineteenth century. Such was its detailed accuracy that it was used as a resource by John Mitchell and Lewis Evans to prepare their own maps of North America, which also appeared in 1755. 

The Percy copy of an immensely important map.