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Description

Nice example of the Georges Louis Le Rouge edition of William Gerard De Brahm's 4-sheet A Map of South Carolina and a Part of Georgia . . . (1757), the most important and influential map of South Carolina and the northern part of Georgia produced during the British Colonial era.

De Brahm's remarkable map, published on a scale of about one inch for five miles, was one of the monumental works of Colonial American map making. Along the coast from northern border of South Carolina to the St. Mary's River, accurate information is presented , showing the names of the major land owners, the islands, river mouths, inlets, and other passages necessary for sailing vessels along the coast and inland. The identification of early land owners around the major settlements, including most notably the areas around Charleston and Savannah are of particular note.

De Brahm's map includes a large format depiction of the parishes, settlements and other property lots along the Georgia-South Carolina coastline and inland along the major rivers, where settlement had progressed by the middle of the eighteenth century. A number of the depicted townships in the interior were created by the South Carolina and Georgia governments as the first lines of defense against hostile Indian tribes and also French encroachments.

The Le Rouge edition is as or more rare than the original edition by De Brahm. Published at the outset of the American Revolution to meet the demand for information regarding the American Colonies, Le Rouge produced his monumental Atlas Amèriquain Sepentrionale, which copied a number of the finest separately issued American maps, and in this regard was a significantly better compilation of maps than Jefferys American Atlas (which includes Henry Mouzon's map of the Carolinas, but does not include the De Brahm). For this map, lamenting the open space in the lower right corner, Le Rouge added what he termed as a free bonus, a faithful reproduction of Claude Sauthier's map of the Course of the Hudson, which at the time was of great importance at the outset of the American Revolution.

De Brahm was a German born military officer who befriended the Bishop of Augsburg, who was then promoting a Georgia Colony to displaced Germans. De Brahm came to Georgia in 1751 and was soon employed as a surveyor in Georgia and South Carolina, where he was appointed surveyor general in 1754.

De Brahm undertook an extensive coastal survey during the first part of the decade and in 1752 announced his intention to produce a map of the area, soliciting information from plantation owners who wished for their lands to appear on the map. De Brahm incorporated earlier surveys by William Bull, John Gascoigne and Hugh Bryan. He sent a draft to the Board of Trade, where it was quickly approved and Thomas Jefferys employed to engrave the map.

De Brahm's map was a vast improvement over earlier maps, accurately depicting the course of rivers and tributaries, correctly locating islands and parishes. An unusual topographical section is included at the northern border. The cartouche illustrates the colonies lucrative indigo trade. The map is known in two states, the present state and a second issued in 1780 with a different title, along with this French edition, published by Georges Louis Le Rouge in his very rare Atlas Amèriquain Sepentrionale (Paris, 1777).

Condition Description
Dissected and laid on modern linen, laid into a decorative clamshell box with title in gilt on spine and frontice. Minor repairs to the map.