Description
Paris, 1755. Plate mark 19 3/8"x 25 3/4". This is the French edition of the iconic Fry-Jefferson map--arguably the most important eighteenth century map of the region. Peter Jefferson was Thomas's father. Due to the rarity and value of the large four-sheet English version ($35,000+), the first state of the French version is the earliest ( relatively) affordable map to show the interior of Virginia beyond the Tidewater with any accuracy. References: Pedley, Bel et Utile: The Work of the Robert de Vaugondy Family of Map Makers, 470 state 1; Phillips, A List of Atlases in the Library of Congress, 5982; Sellers and Van Ee, Maps and Charts of North America, 1432; Swem, Maps Relating to Virginia, 184.Stephenson and McKee , Virginia in Maps, p. 83. Center fold, as issued; minor offsetting on right First state, with the name of the engraver Elisabeth Haussard beneath the cartouche; the Fairfax Grant including the Northern Neck and the large area to the Northwest of it marked as "Limites du Lord Fairfax" along the diagonal straight line in the Northwest; and a portion of the Pennsylvania border running North-South (upper left).