Attractive and beautiful as the map appears to us, Herrman claimed that the engraving did not do justice to his original drawing.[1] He said his map “was slobbered over by the engraver Faithorne defiling the prints by many errors.”[2] That the map was the most nearly accurate of the region up to that time no one pretended to deny and it has since been used for the basis of other maps. One of its defects was that the mouths of the James, York and Rappahannock rivers were drawn far out of proportion to Chesapeake Bay, but this could hardly be called a major error.[3]
Regarding this map Lord Baltimore wrote that “Herrman hath taken great pains in order to the drawing and composing of a certain Mapp or card of our said Province. . . .”[4] On another occasion Baltimore “Humbly refferrs for greater certaynty” to Herrman’s map.[5] Washington in a more reserved but equally laudatory manner speaks of this map, “It was admirably planned and equally well executed.”[6] In the license for its exclusive publication, King Charles II also speaks of the map in warm praise, “being a work of very great pains and charge and for the King’s especial service. . . .”[7] But the principal encomium on the accuracy of Herrman’s map came nine years later when indirectly Sir Isaac Newton came into the argument during the historic Maryland-Pennsylvania boundary dispute between Lord Baltimore and William Penn. In
- ↑ The whereabouts of the original drawing of Herrman’s famous map is unknown. Likely it was destroyed, yet who knows but that some day it will be found. What a treasure it would be! See Phillips Rare Map of Va. & Md.
- ↑ Fite and Freeman, A book of old maps, Harvard Univ. Press, 1926. P. 151.
- ↑ Matthews, E. B. Maps and mapmakers of Maryland; and Phillips, p. 11.
- ↑ Maryland Archives, Proc. of Council (1671–75), pp. 18–19.
- ↑ Phillips, Rare Map of Va. and Md. p. 10.
- ↑ Fite & Freeman, p. 151.
- ↑ Great Britain, Cal. State Papers. Col. Am. & W. Indies (1669–74), p. 551.
