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M-12007: (Image: 15 x 19 ���) �NOVA VIRGINI� TABVLA� John Smith. Amsterdam: Henri Hondius, c. 1639. Verso: French. Derivative 5, State 1. Important foundation map of the Chesapeake Bay! Fine original engraved map with original hand-coloring. (Ref: Potter: Antique Maps, p. 153; Tooley: The Mapping of America, pl 73; Burden #228).

This important map of Virginia is beautifully engraved & detailed. The Smith map was the first printed map of Virginia & had profound impact on the mapping of the colony - serving as the basic prototype of the region. This map identifies various settlements & reflects information gathered by Smith�s early explorations of the area. Upper left has a large view of King Powhatan & his court judging Capt. Smith. The upper right displays a coat-of-arms surmounted by a crown & circled by the symbol of the garter. Under the coat-of-arms is a native Indian holding a bow in the left hand & a club in the right.

Smith�s explorations & discoveries of the area were first published by William Hole,

c. 1612. Jodocus Hondius published the first continental version in 1618. This plate was then purchased by Blaeu, following Jodocus� death, & published in his Atlas with only the imprint altered. Henry Hondius, quite angry at his competitor�s acquisition, had the map re-engraved & published in his own atlas (the Indian faces left, instead of right).