Books and Manuscripts

William Faden's Map of Philadelphia During the American Revolution

London: Will(ia)m Faden, 1777. Third state (with Billingsport Island added below Hog Island). Engraved map of Nicholas Scull and George Heap's famous survey of Philadelphia and its environs; engraved by William Faden; 29 7/8 x 21 3/4 in. (759 x 552 mm). Contemporary crease along center, reinforced with tape on verso; offsetting from when folded; scattered light soiling in margins; chip in top right corner. In mat and in frame, 35 x 28 3/4 in. (889 x 730 mm). Stevens & Tree 69c; Snyder, City of Independence 47b; Nebenzahl, Atlas of the American Revolution 26

Published the year British forces occupied Philadelphia, William Faden's map of the Revolutionary capital is based on Nicholas Scull and George Heap's 1752 map of the city. Faden enlarged their plan of the city to accommodate the size of his folio atlas sheets, moved the finely detailed rendering of the Pennsylvania State House to the bottom, and added and updated information regarding place names, island forts, and river fortifications. This map went through three states, this being the final version, and was almost immediately pirated by other European publishers. A handsome copy.