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Description

French and Indian War-era map of Louisburg, published in the London Magazine circa 1758. The map shows the layout of the city, including various buildings and fortifications. There are several named features, such as the Boom to preserve the French Ships, the Spur, the Key Curtain, and the Beach.

In 1758, the British launched a major expedition to capture Louisbourg, led by General Jeffrey Amherst and Admiral Edward Boscawen. The Siege of Louisbourg took place from June 8 to July 26, 1758. The British forces, which significantly outnumbered the French, eventually overcame the French defenses and captured the fortress, marking a turning point in the war. The capture of Louisbourg allowed the British to focus on attacking Quebec, leading to its eventual fall in 1759.

The map also includes several references to specific locations within the city, such as the Chapel, Barracks, Powder Magazine, and Arsenal & Bakehouse. There are also various gates and guardhouses, including the Maurepas Gate, Queen's Gate, and Dauphin Gate.

Additionally, the map includes a profile of the fortifications, with numbered sections representing the Glacis, Banquet, Covert Way, Ditch, Rampart, Parapet, Countercarp, and Banquet.

Condition Description
Faintly toned.
Thomas Kitchin Biography

Thomas Kitchin was a British cartographer and engraver. Born in Southwark, England, Kitchin was the eldest of several children. He was apprenticed to the map engraver Emanuel Bowen from 1732 to 1739, and he married Bowen’s daughter, Sarah, in December 1739. By 1741 Kitchin was working independently and in 1746 he began taking on apprentices at his firm. His son Thomas Bowen Kitchin was apprenticed to him starting in 1754. By 1755 Kitchin was established in Holborn Hill, where his firm produced all kinds of engraved materials, including portraits and caricatures. He married his second wife, Jane, in 1762. Beginning in 1773 Kitchin was referred to as Hydrographer to the King, a position his son also later held. He retired to St. Albans and continued making maps until the end of his life.

A prolific engraver known for his technical facility, clean lettering, and impressive etched decorations, Kitchin produced several important works throughout his career. He produced John Elphinstone’s map of Scotland in 1746, and the first pocket atlas of Scotland, Geographia Scotiae, in 1748/1749. He co-published The Small English Atlas in 1749 with another of Bowen’s apprentices, Thomas Jefferys. He produced The Large English Atlas serially with Emanuel Bowen from 1749 to 1760. The latter was the most important county atlas since the Elizabethan era, and the first real attempt to cover the whole country at a large scale. In 1755 Kitchin engraved the important John Mitchell map of North America, which was used at the peace treaties of Paris and Versailles. In 1770 he produced the twelve-sheet road map England and Wales and in 1769–70 he produced Bernhard Ratzer’s plans of New York. In 1783, he published The Traveller’s Guide through England and Wales.