[AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM GEORGE CROGHAN, CONCERNING A MAP OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES]

[N.p., N.d., but ca. 1763].. [1]p. Quarto. Separation at old fold, repaired on verso with contemporary paper; minor wear otherwise. Very good. Croghan, a deputy Indian agent serving under British agent William Johnson, writes to an unnamed recipient concerning a map of the northern British colonies. This letter presumably accompanied the map in question, and both this letter and the map were likely sent to a cartographer or artisan of some kind; due to the date and the available resources, it is almost certain that the map to which Croghan refers is that of Lewis Evans. The letter reads, in part:

"I Send you this Map wh. is to be Inlarged (truncated) Takeing In all the province of New York to Connecticut River and as far back as the Limits of Cannada all the Jersey Pensylvaine Maryland & Virginia the Lackes & back Cuntry is properly & well Lay'd. Down in this & the Larger Scail its Lay'd. Down on the better, one Copey is for Sir William Johnson to Settle the Boundry with the Indians by the other is to be Sent the proprietors when the boundry is percht of, on itt." A "perch" (sometimes used in favor of the term "rod") was an English surveying measurement equal to about 16½ feet.

In the lower left corner is written in another hand: "The Map when Enlarged was 7 ft 2 in Length & 4 ft 3 inches in Breadth. Takeing in Connecticut River & the Massisippa all Virgina & Canda to the Lat. of Montreal."

As indicated in the letter, the map was to assist in the boundary dispute between the British and the Native Americans, giving a probable date for the letter to circa 1763, around the end of Pontiac's Rebellion and the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which legally curtailed white settlement past the Appalachian Mountains.

George Croghan (1718-82) was an Irish-born fur trader who became acquainted with the Great Lakes Region Indians and their languages through his trading pursuits. Breaking the traditional modus operandi of British traders, Croghan traveled to the Indians rather than waiting for them to arrive at a British post. This allowed him to spend time among the native peoples, whom he grew to respect, learning their customs and languages. In 1756 he began service as the deputy Indian agent under William Johnson, the British Indian agent in the area, a position he held until retiring in 1772.

A fascinating document, which gives rise to the question of whether or not such a large- scale map was created, and if so, does it still exist somewhere. (Inventory #: WRCAM47731)