A superb attractive separately published English map first issued during the Interregnum in the same year that Oliver Cromwell died. This second state is identical apart from the removal of the date 1658 from the title. The fact that the portrait of Cromwell is removed from that of Europe in this set of continental maps would indicate that they were issued following the restoration of Charles II in 1660. There are very few early English maps of the America’s and apart from those of John Speed, the majority are very rare.

Cromwellian London had only a handful of map publishers, amongst whom were Thomas Jenner (fl.1621-72), Joseph Moxon (1627-91), and Peter Stent (1613?-65). Following the restoration of Charles II the trade expanded considerably. Robert Walton (1618-88) was born at Welford, Northamptonshire and apprenticed through the Merchant Taylors to the copperplate printed John Costard in 1632. He was made free in 1641. His earliest cartographic work was a map of much of the British Isles by engraved by Wenceslaus Hollar and Thomas Porter’s plan of London, both in 1654.

“In 1656 he produced a world map and having clearly perceived a market for a set of the continents, completed them in 1658. The American map is derived from the sixth state of Pieter van den Keere’s map issued by Nicolaas Visscher, 1652. ‘Statenlant’ off Tierra del Fuego is depicted as an island. The title states that it is corrected according to Blaeu, referring to two areas in particular. The St. Lawrence River extends half way across the continent to a large lake open to the west, where Walton places a legend stating ‘This Lake is said to be 300 miles long’. The lake is derived from Blaeu’s wall map of the world, 1648. On the west coast above the insular California, he introduces the peninsula of Agubelad Cata. This is found on Blaeu’s revised wall map of the world ascribed to 1645-46 and would be followed by many cartographers. The fascinating depiction of California attempts to balance the many theories at the time. The old north-westerly running west coast found on pre-California as an island maps is amalgamated with the recent theory of a Terre de Jesso landmass.

A further improvement is the inclusion of Hudson Bay, which was found on the van den Keere but only ever in the inset not in the main body of the map. The east coast of North America is improved in an elementary manner, including ‘Boston’, but not Jamestown. Interestingly we find a reference to ‘Carolina’ in the south-east, reflecting earlier French claims. ‘NEW NETHERLAND’ is mentioned without indicating New Amsterdam, and the French presence in the north is barely recorded. The van den Keere decorations are faithfully followed with the exception of replacing the Chinese junk with a European vessel. The bordering panels are similarly emulated with the exception of the title of the second one down to the right, altering it from ‘CHILI’ to ‘A MAGELLANIC’. This paired it more accurately with the left hand border. This rare map is not known to have been intended for any book although it has been found inserted into examples of Peter Heylin’s ‘Cosmographie’ and Bernhard Varenius’ ‘Cosmography and Geography’.” (Burden). Provenance: Richard B. Arkway 2003; Juan and Peggy Rada Collection. Burden (1996) 330; Jolly (1981); Jolly (1985); Leighly (1972) no. 51; McLaughlin & Mayo (1995) no. 41; ‘The Map Collector’ (1981) no. 15 pp. 48-50 (illustrating a full set of the second state continents); Tooley (1964) p. 119, no. 25; Tooley (1973) p. 304 (entered as being 1648); Tyacke (1978) pp. 145-6; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).