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Description

Exceptionally rare map of North America by George Willdey, published in London.

This map is a superb amalgam of two maps by De L'Isle, his Carte Du Canada ou de la Nouvelle France… of 1703 and his Carte Du Mexique et de la Floride des Terres Angloises…of 1703, two of the most influential maps of the era. A magnificent marriage of contemporary French Cartography and a unique ornate engraving style.

While it is often suggested that Willdey simply reissued maps by Senex, Overton and several other map makers of the period, it is clear that this map is no mere re-issue. The addition of a number of sailing vessels in the Caribbean and off the Atlantic Coast, and a bright fresh engraving style which is vastly superior to the work by his predecessors, sets Willdey's work apart from the other.

Willdey's maps are works of art, which include a striking pair of cartouches, an entertaining advertisement for his Great Toy Store.

Willdey was an interesting renaissance character. In addition to issuing some of the most wonderful and decorative English large format maps of the period, he was a maker of Globes, instruments, spectacles, reading glasses and other useful curiosities at his shop, the Great Toy Shop next ye Dogg Tavern in Ludgate.

Rarity

The map is very rare on the market. This is the second example we have offered for sale in the past 25 years.

Condition Description
Paper toned. Map expertly re-margined, with evidence of old folds and restoration along the folds. A number of skillful repairs along old folds and the outer parts of the map.
Reference
McLaughlin 199; Old Print Shop Map Catalogue 1969.
George Willdey Biography

George Willdey was an optical instrument maker. He also sold globes, maps, and toys at his shop in Ludgate Street. Born in Staffordshire, Willdey moved to London after the death of his father, where he was bound as an apprentice to John Yarwell, an optician. He was made free of the Spectaclemakers’ Company in 1702, when he began work as a journeyman.

A few years later, Willdey started in business with Timothy Brandreth, working under the sign of the Archimedes and Globe. They competed for business with Yarwell and other opticians, advertising their wares in trade cards and periodical advertisements.

Willdey and his wife, Judith, had five children, three of which survived to adulthood. Judith was a Huguenot, which allowed Willdey to create a wider network of artisans and craftsman. He expanded his stock to toys and household decorations, in addition to instruments. From 1709 he also sold printed goods, including maps and globes, which he sold in partnership with John Senex. Willdey purchased the copper plates for many maps, such as Christopher Saxton’s atlas of England and Wales.

We note the following addresses:

  • From 1707 to 1713 he operated "At the Archemedes & Globe, Ludgate Street." sometimes described as "Archimedes and Globe next the Dog Tavern nearer Ludgate."
  • In 1712 in partnership with Timothy Brandreth also advertised at Archimedes and Globe over against the Royal Exchange in Cornhill.
  • In 1715 his location was described as "At the Great Toy and Print Shop, the corner of Ludgate Street, next to St. Paul's"
  • 1718 to 1737 as "At the Great Toy, Spectacle, China-Ware, and Print Shop, the Corner of Ludgate Street near St. Pauls London." 

In 1717, Willdey split with Brandreth and expanded his stock further to include coffee and tea, snuff, medicine, china, and cutlery. He sold these wares from his shop at Ludgate and St. Paul’s Churchyard. He aggressively advertised his business in hundreds of newspaper advertisements; he also adopted many advertising gimmicks, such as erecting a giant burning glass on the roof of his store. Willdey was a leader in the Spectaclemakers’ Company. His wife frequently helped with the business and eight of his fifteen apprentices were women, which was very unusual for either the instrument and toy trades at the time.

Willdey died in 1737, although he had been in declining health for years and had tried to pass the business to his son, Thomas. He was remembered in The Old Whig, or, the Consistent Protestant as the “most noted Toyman in Europe.” After his death, the shop was run by Judith along with a former apprentice, Susanna Passavant. Thomas, it seems, was not suited to business.

Willdey’s daughter, Jane Frances, married a Peter Fenoulhet, clerk of the entries in the Excise Office. Fenoulhet sued on behalf of their son over the mismanagement of the family business by Thomas. These lawsuits produced eleven inventories of household and commercial stock between 1730 and 1737, the only extant shop accounts from the London instrument trade from this period.