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Updated For The French Army During the American Revolution
Rare Revolutionary War period map of Virginia & Maryland, published by Le Rouge.
Le Rouge's 2 sheet edition is based upon the Fry Jefferson map, but covers only Virginia, Maryland & Delaware, plus the southern portions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It omits most of the portions of North Carolina shown in the English edition.
The Le Rouge edition is a faithful reproduction of Fry Jefferson's map, with only minor cartographic and nomenclature differences. Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson (father of the Thomas Jefferson) first issued the English edition in 1754 (known in 2 copies). The map was subsequently issued over the next 30 years in a number of editions, including those bound into Jefferys American Atlas and a single sheet edition issued by De Vaugondy. The map is considered a cartographic landmark and one of the most important maps of the region ever issued.
The map has been extensively discussed by Cumming (281), Freeman & Fite (61). Morrison (fig. 41), Shwartz & Ehrenberg (pl.92) and others.
Rarity
This edition is vastly scarcer than the 4 sheet Fry Jefferson, which was issued over a number of years and in a number of different editions.
George-Louis Le Rouge (1712-1790), though known for his work in Paris, was originally born Georg Ludwig of Hanover, Germany. He grew up and was educated in Hanover, after which he became a surveyor and military engineer. Around 1740, however, Le Rouge moved to Paris and set up shop as an engraver and publisher on the Rue des Grands Augustins. It was at this time that he changed his name, adopting a French pseudonym that would later become quite famous.
Le Rouge spent much of his forty-year career translating various works from English to French, and his cartographic influence often came from English maps. His experience as a surveyor and engineer in Germany made him a skilled and prolific cartographer, and he produced thousands of charts, maps, atlases, and plans. His work spans from garden views and small-town plans to huge, multiple-continent maps. Le Rouge eventually accepted the position of Geographical Engineer for Louid XV, the King of France.
Later in life, Le Rouge became well-known for publishing North American maps, such as in his Atlas ameriquain septentrional of 1778. One of Le Rouge’s other more famous works is the Franklin/Folger chart of the Gulf Stream, which he worked on with Benjamin Franklin. Franklin and Le Rouge corresponded around 1780 and collaborated to create this map, a French version of Franklin’s famous chart which was originally printed in 1769.
