Moll, Herman

To the right Honourable John Lord Sommers ... This Map of North America according to ye Newest and most Exact Observations. London: D. Midwinter, T. Bowles, and P. Overton, [ca. 1720]



2 sheets joined as one (24 x 38 1/2 in.; 610 x 978 mm). Map and insets of ports handcolored in outline, cartouche depicting Indians and Eskimos and large vignette of codfish drying fully handcolored; some early reinforcement to folds on verso, some browning in 2 folds on face of map. Hinged and matted.

Schwartz & Ehrenberg, Mapping of America, p. 140

2 sheets joined as one (24 x 38 1/2 in.; 610 x 978 mm). Map and insets of ports handcolored in outline, cartouche depicting Indians and Eskimos and large vignette of codfish drying fully handcolored; some early reinforcement to folds on verso, some browning in 2 folds on face of map. Hinged and matted.
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.

A handsome map of North America from the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Moll depicts southern California as an island based on the Sanson shape but with one or two additional names—Mounts Nevada and St. Martin, P. de Sardines, and four towns in the south, La Conception, St. Nicholas, St. Isidore, and Gigante. The ten insets comprise St. John's Harbor, Boston Harbor, New York, the Ashley and Cooper River; Port Royal Harbor, The Bay and City of Havana, the Bay of Porto Bello, La Vera Cruz, Cartagen Harbor, and the Port of Acapulco.  Moll's depiction of a cod fishery in Newfoundland is borrowed from Nicolas de Fer's wall map of America, first published in 1698.

Like many English cartographers of the period, Moll's map counters French claims to all the land drained by the Mississippi River and its tributaries, as presented in Guillaume Delisle's Carte de la Louisiane et du Cours du Mississipi. "Had they gained control of this area, it would have given them access to the Ohio River and an inland passage ... from the mouth of the Mississippi to Canada. They would also have gained a monopoly of the Indian fur trade" (Pritchard & Taliaferro, Degrees of Latitude, p. 136).