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  • Plan of the City of New York, in North America Surveyed in the Years 1766 & 1767..

Plan of the City of New York, in North America Surveyed in the Years 1766 & 1767..

  • ARTIST: Bernard Ratzer

  • PUBLISHER: London Publishd according to Act of Parliament Jany. 12, 1776: by Jefferys & Faden, Corner of St. Martins Lane, Charing Cross.

  • MEDIUM: Copper-plate engraving,

    DATE: 1776.

  • EDITION SIZE: Image size 46 3/4 x 34 3/8" (119 x 87.4 cm) plus margins.

  • DESCRIPTION: New York City on the eve of the Revolutionary War.<br><br> This large-scale map is a highly accurate delineation of the bustling seaport as it existed in the late 1760s. Cartographically, the map shows Manhattan, Brooklyn, and a portion of New Jersey. Manhattan is shown up to approximately today's 50th St.<br><br> During this period Manhattan was largely undeveloped, the city was confined to the southern tip of the Island with estates, pastures, and woods to the north. Brooklyn is sparsely populated and shows large tracts of farmland. Below the map is a view of the city as seen from the shoreline of Governor's Island after a 1760 watercolor by Captain Thomas Davies of the Royal Artillery.<br><br> This map's remarkable accuracy is rooted in the circumstances of its production. It was the expansion of a military survey ordered by General Thomas Gage in the wake of the Stamp Act Riots that rocked New York in the fall of 1765. A little more than a decade later, the British captured Manhattan and the island and harbor served as their base of operations during the entire war. The Razter map would prove to be a key reference for planners on both sides of the War of Independence. <br><br> Three sheets, joined, dissected into 32 panels, and laid down on linen. This example was removed from the original linen and backed on museum-quality Japon paper.

  • ADDITIONAL INFO: Three-sheet map, joined, segmented into sixteen sections and mounted onto linen. All done at the time of issue.

  • CONDITION: Overall in good condition save for some time-toning. Uncolored.

  • REFERENCE: Stokes, Iconography p. 41; Cohen and Augustyn, pp. 73-7; Pritchard and Taliaferro, n. 46; Deak, n. 121.

  • CATEGORIES: Maps