Hi Jodi,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.

This is a mid 19th Century reproduction of the “Map of the Frontiers of the Northern Colonies with the Boundary Line established Between them and the Indians at the Treaty held by S. Will Johnson at Ft. Stanwix in Novr 1768.”

Historically, this treaty between the British government and the Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee) was significant; it was signed at Fort Stanwix (in what is now Rome, New York). It was negotiated by Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the northern colonies. The treaty aimed to end conflicts between settlers and Native Americans by drawing a new boundary line between colonial settlements and Native lands. The Iroquois ceded large portions of what are now Kentucky, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania to the British.

The red line marks the new boundary line established by the treaty. It shows the northern British colonies including: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, as well as the Great Lakes (Lake Erie, Lake Ontario), Ohio River, Mississippi River, and major Native nations’ territories. The part labeled “The Remaining Part of Ohio” was, at the time, part of the vast trans-Appalachian frontier. It also contains British colonial settlements, forts (like Fort Pitt), and tribal names.

The original 1768 Map of the Frontiers of the Northern Colonies was drawn by Governor Thomas Pownall (1722–1805). It was surveyed and compiled under the direction of Pownall, who was formerly governor of Massachusetts Bay and later served in the British Parliament. The engraving and publication were done in London by William Faden, a prominent British mapmaker and publisher.

I've found at least two reproduction printings - one in the late 19th Century (circa 1894, published by William Clements; and this by John E. Gavit, which major library catalogs (NYPL, Princeton, William L. Clements Library) describe the item as a mid-19th-century facsimile or give dates in the 1850s (one record lists 1850 as “questionable,” others use the placeholder [18––]).

John E. Gavit was born in 1817 and died in 1874. He established Gavit & Company, a printing and engraving business, in 1841 in Albany, New York. The company did engraving, printing bank notes, stamps, and other security-type printing work. According to the Albany Institute, he also did reproductions/facsimiles of older prints (for example a work from Montanus Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld) showing him working as both engraver and printer.

This copy does not come to auction very frequently but when it does, it has a history of selling for between $400 and $600.

Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

After William Faden
Facsimile copy of "A Map of the Frontiers of the Northern Colonies, with the Boundary Line Established between them and the Indians at the Treaty held by Sir William Johnson at Fort Stanwix, in November 1768", published by John E. Gavit, Albany, circa 1850s
15" by 20"
CONDITION: With some creases but appears to be in generally sound condition.
PROVENANCE: Acquired at a garage or yard sale
$ 400-600*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia