New England in 1689
DraftsmanDrawn by
Arnold Guyot
(American, 1807 - 1884)
PrintmakerEngraved by
George W. Boynton
(1809 - 1884)
Date1858
MediumEngraving; black printer's ink on wove paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 10 3/16 x 7 13/16in. (25.9 x 19.8cm)
Platemark (height x width): 12 3/8 x 9 5/8in. (31.4 x 24.4cm)
Sheet (height x width): 13 7/8 x 10 3/8in. (35.2 x 26.4cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number2012.312.68
DescriptionMap of the eastern United States and Canada, from Montreal to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, and the Hudson River to the west. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Plimouth, New Hampshire, Maine and Cornwall are the regions in New England that are labeled on the map, along with New York and New Jersey. Towns and settlements are marked with circles and labeled, and natural features include rivers, lakes, islands and mountains.
Label TextThis early attempt at a retrospective map showing New England as it would have appeared towards the end of the 1600s was published as the frontispiece to Palfrey's History of New England in 1858. The physical geography and topography of the region is accurately depicted, but only those towns that were present in 1689 are shown and the colonial boundaries are only vaguely indicated. Much of the geographical detail would have been unfamiliar to colonists in the 1600s; the exact locations of the Saint Lawrence River, Lake George and Lake Champlain, and the sources of the Connecticut River were still unknown, and most of the interior remained unexplored and unmapped at that date. The emphasis on rivers, lakes, and mountains may be partly due to the fact that Arnold Guyot, who drew the map, was primarily a geologist.
NotesCartographic note: No scaleStatus
Not on view
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