Florida and the Gulf Coast at the outset of the American Revolution

Nice example of this important early 2-sheet map of Florida and the Gulf Coast, from Jeffreys' West India Atlas.

Jeffery's map is the earliest obtainable large format map to treat Florida and the Gulf Coast region with such remarkable detail, including soundings and rhumb lines. The map identifies the trade routes then being utilized by the English, Spanish, and other maritime sea powers, along the gulf coast, past the Florida Keys and through the channel separating Florida from the Bahamas. Several important anchorage points are noted with ships along the coast line. The map shows many early place names, both along the coastline and the interior.

We offer the map in the second state. The first state does not name the Bay of Spiritu Santo at the mouth of the Mississippi, and a note that the water is shallow with many islands, but that little is known about the region. The detail in Florida and the Bahamas is excellent, as is the elaborate compass rose and sailing ships.

Jeffreys' West India Atlas was perhaps the single most important work on the region published during the period. It quickly surpassed Mount & Page' s English Pilot, Fourth Book as the primary source of general working charts for the region, by including highly detailed maps of each of the major islands in the Pacific and highly detailed charts of the Coastlines of Florida, the Gulf, Mexico, Central America and the northern Coast of South America.