Fine map of North America, issued shortly after Henry Popple's seminal map of the region.
This edition of the map is from Salmon's Modern History and appears to be based on Popple's earlier map but is is not known who engraved this particular map. Although many of the maps in Salmon's book were by Moll, this one is clearly from a different hand as its style is not that of Moll.
The map is a marriage of important early cartographic information with a clear and skillful engraving style. The map shows most of Lake Superior and Lake Illinois and extends nearly to the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi. In Central Tennessee, a note appears identifying a Fit Place for an English Factory. The Illinois, Hohio and Pelesipi Rivers are named west of the Appalachian Mountains. Georgia is named, along with the "Charokees N[ation]". Annapolis T. appears in Maryland. A Keaniee village appears at the headwaters of the Podee River in North Carolina. In Western New York, the Cayagas, Onondages, Senekas, Iroquis and "Mohawkes" are named, along with the "Mowhawk River" and Ft. Oswego. A number of early English forts appear, including Ft. Anne, Ft. Nicholson, & Ft. Sorel. Province of Main and New Hampshire are shown. Elizabeth T., New Haven and Perth are named.
"Salmon's Modern History" refers to Thomas Salmon's influential 18th-century work, Modern History: or, the Present State of all Nations, a comprehensive geographical and historical text covering world cultures, politics, and natural sciences, published in multiple editions from the 1720s to 1739, featuring maps by Herman Moll and becoming a key resource on the known world, highlighting the expansion of knowledge during the Enlightenment.
Salmon was an English historical and geographical writer, known for his extensive travels and detailed accounts.
His "Modern History" aimed to be the most complete system of geography and modern history, describing nations' situations, people, customs, laws, arts, and natural world.
It first appeared in the 1720s, with a major three-volume quarto edition published in 1739. It was heavily illustrated with numerous engraved plates and maps, notably by cartographer Herman Moll, depicting the world as it was being discovered and captured the spirit of the Enlightenment by documenting a rapidly expanding world, becoming a vital text for scholars and the public.
In essence, Salmon's "Modern History" is a landmark work of 18th-century encyclopedic knowledge, offering insights into global cultures and geography through a richly illustrated compilation of facts and observations.
