Sale 2512 Lot 128

(MANUSCRIPT MAP.) Rogers, A. A Chart of the World According to Mercator's Projections. Ink and watercolor manuscript chart on four joined sheets of laid paper bearing "Potts & Reynolds" watermarks. 25x31 1/2 inches overall; staining and small losses, mounted to later linen. Np, circa 1788

Estimate $2,000 - 3,000

A curious and unusual eighteenth-century "chart" of the world centered on the mid-Atlantic. This appears to be an unfinished work in progress with the latitude and longitude lines drawn throughout, numerous cities and ports laid down, but with no landmasses delineated whatsoever: only the vaguest sense of the American coast, Europe, Africa and a small bit of Asia can be discerned from the placement of the toponyms. A triangulation at the east coast of North America bears the notation "page 29-38", suggesting the maker was consulting a navigator's guide, but no source text has been identified. The chart is most certainly of American design, evidenced by the paper on which the map is drawn: established circa 1788, the Stacy Potts & John Reynolds paper mill in Trenton, New Jersey was one of the earliest producers of hand-made paper in America.