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Description

Nice example of this unrecorded variant state of Norman's extremely rare sea chart of northern Newfoundland and Labrador.

Wheat & Brun note two states of the chart. Both have "Streights of Bell Isle" and "Newfoundland" in the title. In the first state the engraved lettering is open, in the second state the lettering has been filled in. In this unrecorded state the lettering of "Streights of Bell Isle" is filled in but the titling for "Newfoundland" has been completely removed.

The American Revolution brought an end to Britain's leading role in the mapping of America. The task now fell to the American publishing industry, still in its infancy, but with direct access to new surveys that were documenting the rapid growth of the nation. In particular, there was a need for nautical charts for use by the expanding New England commercial fleets. The first American marine atlas, Matthew Clark's A Complete Set of Charts of the Coast of America, was published in Boston in 1790.

In 1791 John Norman of Boston first published The American Pilot, containing the navigation of the sea coast of North America.... Norman's Pilot was the second sea atlas published in America, the first being by William Clark, published in 1789-1790. (Norman also had a part in Clark's "Pilot," as he was the engraver for a majority of the charts. In 1794, William Norman appeared as the publisher of this Pilot, taking over from John Norman.

Condition Description
Good condition save for some occasion faint fox marks and occasion minor tears along sheet edges.