(Note:ThelimiteddeluxeeditionofMappingVirginiahassoldout.)AsoneofthechiefgatewaystotheearliestexplorationandsettlementoftheNorthAmericancontinent,Virginiawasthesubjectofmuchimaginativethoughtandpracticalscrutiny.Notsurprisingly,itpossessesafascinatingcartographicalheritage.MovingfromtheyearsprecedingJamestowntothedawnofthepostbellumera,MappingVirginiarepresentsthemostcomprehensiveavailableselectionofprintedmapsfromVirginia’sfirstthreehundredyears.Beginningwiththefirst,tentativerenderingsofthemid-Atlanticcoastinthesixteenthcentury,thebookprovidesadetailedlistingofthevastmajorityoftheprintedmapscanvassingVirginiabefore1830.AlargegroupofmapsdepictingVirginiaduringtheCivilWarisalsoincluded.Themapsareallreproducedthroughabundantillustrations,andeachisplacedinitshistoricalcontext.BecausethelegalandpopularlyconceivedboundariesofVirginiawereinfluxformanygenerations,themapsencompassagreatdealofgeographynotpresentlypartofthecommonwealth.Asaresult,thethreecenturiesofmapscollectedherereflectanevolvingideaofwhatVirginiais,aconceptasmuchasastrictregion--thelandsandthemesthatcametomindatvariouspointsintimewhenacartographerdesignedwhathebelievedconveyed“Virginia.“Inadditiontotheirgreathistoricandgeographicsignificance,themapsexhibitanexquisiteartistry,placingbeforethereaderbreathtakingexamplesofthedraftsman’s,engraver’s,andcolorist’scraft.Thesequalitiesareondisplayinhundredsofillustrations,overhalfofwhichareincolor.Writtenforthegeneralreaderaswellasthemapconnoisseur,MappingVirginiademonstratestheremarkableprocessbywhichVirginiagradually,magicallyrevealeditsformtothecollectivemind.PublishedfortheLibraryattheMariners’MuseuminassociationwiththeVirginiaCartographicalSociety
