Nova Virginiae Tabula

Amsterdam, 1636. No Binding. Near Fine. 15 x 19 ¼ inches. Fine hand color; some spotting near upper margin, else excellent. Hondius' beautiful, enlarged, engraving of Capt. John Smith's map of the Chesapeake Bay and region, in its only English-text edition. The first printed map of Virginia, Smith's work was remarkably accurate for its period. It was based on surveys personally commanded by him. Not only is it a valuable record of early Indian tribes, but it was also one of the few early maps of America to acknowledge the role of Indian informants in its creation. The several Maltese Crosses on the work indicate areas beyond which the geography was based on Indian reports rather than on direct observation. The verso text describes Virginia's native peoples, their manner of settlement, and religious beliefs, but also the region's. Also found on the engraving is a portrait of Powhatan in the upper left. Hondius's edition is the only one on which the Native American figure in the right is facing toward the Chesapeake Bay. Burden 228; Tooley,America, p. 165.