The Mitchell Map--In Italian
Terrific regional map of the Northeastern Coast, extending from the Hamptons on Long Island and the Connecticut River and showing all of New England, the Bay of Fundy and Acadia.
The map, while issued as part of Zatta's Atlante Novissimo, is actually one of 12 sections comprising the Italian edition of Mitchell's map of North America. The Italian edition is richly illustrated with annotations not found on the English edition of the Mitchell. The map's scale is identical to the Mitchell.
The Most Important 18th Century Map of North America
Mitchell's Map of the British and French Dominions in North America . . . is widely regarded as the most important map in American History. Prepared on the eve of the French & Indian War, it was the second large format map of North America printed by the British and included the best up-to-date information of the region. Over the next 200 years, it would play a significant role in the resolution of every significant boundary dispute involving the northern border of the then British Colonies, and later the United States. It was also the map-of-record at the birth of the United States and continued in this role through the early life of the country.
Antonio Zatta (fl. 1757-1797) was a prominent Italian editor, cartographer, and publisher. Little is known about his life beyond his many surviving published works. It is possible that he was born as early as 1722 and lived as late as 1804. He lived in Venice and his work flourished between 1757 and 1797. He is best known for his atlas, Atlante Novissimo (1779-1785), and for his prolific output of prints and books that were both precisely made and aesthetically pleasing. Zatta clearly had a large network from which to draw information; this is how he was able to publish the first glimpse of the islands visited by Captain Cook in the Atlante Novissimo. Zatta also published books of plays and architecture.