“New Engelland, New York, New Yersey und Pensilvania”. Original antique map of New England published in c. 1750 by Homann Erben. With old hand colouring, possibly original.

“New Engelland, New York, New Yersey und Pensilvania”

An original antique map copied from the original plate by Herman Moll. This map was part of a four sheet panel from ” Septentrionali” published by Homann Heirs in 1737. The multi-map sheet was titled Dominia Anglorum in “Septentrionali”.

The original map by Moll appeared in his Atlas Minor in 1729 as a standalone engraving, whereas in the Homann Heirs edition the full sheet contained four different regional maps on one page. They are frequently separated and appear as standalone maps, as in this example.

It depicts the Northeastern region of the British American colonies, stretching from the Bay of Fundy (encompassing parts of southern New Brunswick and southern Nova Scotia) southward to the Delaware Bay and northern Maryland.

The map unites New England (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine territory), New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania into a single continuous visual layout.

Reflecting older colonial charters, the province of New Jersey is uniquely depicted split into its historical proprietary boundaries: East Jersey and West Jersey.

The Iroquois Confederacy Claims: Massive sections of northern and western Pennsylvania, as well as parts of upstate New York, are marked as territory belonging to the Iroquois Nation. The text at the bottom of the composite sheet elaborates further on the geopolitical standing of the Iroquois.

True to the era, the map contains several geographic distortions. Most notably, Lake Champlain is pushed significantly further south and west of its true geographical coordinates.

The map carefully notes major towns (such as Albany and Boston), major riverways (like the Hudson and Delaware), English military forts, trading posts, and Indian missions.

There are no margins as it has been trimmed to the edge of the image.

While printed by the Homann Heirs, the actual geography for this specific map layout was copied directly from the English cartographer Herman Moll.

Herman Moll moved to England from either Holland or Germany in 1678. His early maps were influenced by John Speed and Emanuel Bowen but ten years after his move to London he opened his first shop at Blackfriars in 1688.

The early years were spent working for other publishers, but in 1701 he published his first work “A System of Geography”. Between 1711 and 1717 he published ‘Atlas Geographis’ in monthly parts, which would eventually comprise 5 volumes.

Moll latter produced detailed maps of North America which were designed to assist in the growth of British influence on the continent. His maps were used by both France and Britain but the cartography and labelling was designed to aid Britain gain territory.

Johann Baptist Homann (1663-1724) was a mapmaker who founded the famous Homann Heirs publishing company. He lived his entire life in Bavaria, particularly in Nuremberg. Initially, Johann trained to become a priest before converting to Protestantism and working as a notary.

In 1702, Johann founded a publishing house that specialized in engravings. The firm flourished, becoming the leading map publisher in Germany and an important entity in the European map market. In 1715, Johann was named Imperial Geographer to the Holy Roman Empire by Charles VI and made a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences.

Most importantly for his business, his reputation and contacts gained him imperial printing privileges which protected his publications and recommended him to customers. Johann is best known for the “Grosser Atlas ueber die ganze Welt”, (Grand Atlas of the World), published in 1716.

After Johann died in 1724, the business passed to his son, Christoph (1703-1730). Upon Christoph’s early death, the company passed to subsequent heirs, with the name of the company changing to Homann Erben, or Homann Heirs. The firm continued in business until 1848.