Boston

Plan de la Baye, Ville, et Environs de Baston. [France, c. 1755 or later?]



Manuscript map, (18 ¼ x 23 3/8 in.; 465 x 600 mm), pen-and-ink and wash drawing, with double-ruled border, caption at top, scale at lower right, large compass rose incorporating a fleur-de-lis in red and green, roads and manmade structures highlighted in red ink, the sea, fields and trees shaded in green and pale yellow inks, on a single sheet without watermark, verso docketed "Baston" in a contemporary hand; formerly folded in half and bound on a guard into an album, margins strengthened in two places on verso, half-inch tear in ocean portion unobtrusively repaired.

Beautifully drawn French plan for naval use, almost certainly dating from the period of the French and Indian War. Navigational features are emphasized, noting where vessels enter through the harbor islands, and where a narrower passage for small boats may be found, both of which terminate in dock areas shown in some detail. The map notes that on the jetty there are "60 pieces de cannon", while at the north end lie a "batterie de 25 pieces" and at the south end "Fort de Andros qui Comande le ville."

Most of the major harbor islands and other features are shown and labelled with French approximations: "I. Dyr" (Deer Island), "I. Egue" (Egg Island), "I. Spectidle" (Spectacle Island), "I. Petit Brust (Little Brewster Island), "I. Nan" (Nahant). Dorchester Neck is captioned "Dacheten Neche" and is shown without fortification while the Bay of Lynn is titled "B. de Lin." The town of Charleston, village of "Rochberi" (Roxbury) and "Cambrige Université" with their road connections are shown in lesser detail.

The tentatively attributed date is based on the conspicuous presence of "Fort Andros" which was destroyed in 1760 due to the explosion of its magazine (see J.E. Kaufmann, Fortress America, 2004, p. 56). A note pencilled on the verso records the map's purchase in Paris in 1947, and that other maps in the portfolio from which it came, were dated 1755.