Cary's map of this area appears to be modelled after J. F. DesBarres Nova Scotia map as it uses many place names from that map and also pinpoints Castle Frederick, DesBarres Nova Scotia home. Later versions of this map from Cary do not include Castle Frederick.
A map of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. An engraving of a view of the habour entrance of Halifax is present in the top right, and a scene from Newfoundland's cod fishery in the bottom right, which is also linked thematically in the border for the entire map. The illustrative elements of the Great Seals of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, are shown. Nova Scotia is divided into counties, and Newfoundland into its historical districts.
The original cartography was based on maps from c.1713. It remained unchanged through it's various printings and states (as late as 1784) giving it a somewhat dated look as compared to other maps published of the area during the same time period.
Significant fishing banks are present. It is interesting that the French persisted in using their historical place names even though at this time all the territory on the map was under British control under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763) which ended the Seven Years War.
According to Burden (230) this is the earliest map to show the correct north-south orientation of Lake Champlain and to represent Prince Edward Island accurately. It is considered one of the most important maps of the region of the early 17th century. It is interesting to note the different languages used: the cartouche is Latin, most place names are French and the cardinal points in the margin, Dutch.
The importance of the east coast fishing grounds is illustrated on this map by a note specifically outlining the fishing permissions granted to the French under the Treaty of Utrecht (1713).
This map shows the Atlantic Provinces and the Province of Quebec as defined by the Royal Proclamation of 1763. Rivers, bays and settlements are named; some topographic features are shown by hachuring.
The atlas this map is from is a typical example of a lot of atlas publications in the 19th century. Plates were used and reused by publishers over the course of many years and were transferred from one publisher to another with no, or very minor, changes. When a map is detached from its' atlas it becomes difficult to verify which atlas a map is from. Only by comparing it to known versions can conclusions be drawn. In this example, Greenleaf reissued an 1836 atlas of the same name by David Burr and at least 4 known versions were produced.
Detailed map of the region from Newfoundland to the Saint Lawrence and Nova Scotia highlighting the fishing banks. The coastlines and mountains are shown by hachuring.
The 1836 publication of this atlas was the 1st edition. Virtually identical maps, with the exception of the publication information, appear in subsequent editions and atlases by Mitchell and others. The publication statement and the color palette definitively tie this to the 1836 publication.
While this is most likely from the 1838 edition of Bradford's atlas and Walter's notes indicate that, the color palette doesn't match other copies available online that are defintely from that atlas. However, the colors also vary between those maps.
Different sources have different publication dates for this atlas. The Library of Congress uses information from the supplementary index to date it to 1843. This is a fine steel engraving typical of Archer's work.
While Cary's maps of this area are almost indistinguishable from one another, the size of the map and the date indicate this was most likely published in "A New Elementary Atlas". The 1813 version of this map appears to be quite rare.
