A rare maritime map by William Norman is valued at $50,000-70,000 ahead of Swann Auction Galleries' December 5 sale.
The chart, which covers the area from New York to Timber Island, dates to around 1803.
 This is the only known example of this variant of Norman's map to come to auction |
The map is a variant of a previously published map of the area, and features a number of changes to the geography of the coastline.
Following the withdrawal of the British from the United States after the American revolution, the responsibility for mapping the coast fell to local pilots - including Norman.
A leading mapmaker, he produced a number of early charts of the eastern seaboard of America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
A supplement of John Gould's A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Hummingbirds, carries an estimate of $15,000-20,000.
 Gould's Monograph of the Trochilidae is widely regarded as his masterpiece |
It features 58 hand coloured lithographic plates, along with five additional plates from the series. The lot is unbound and dates to 1887.
Gould published the supplement in five parts, with the last three issued posthumously following his death in 1881.
A full six-volume set of Gould's masterpiece (including the supplement) realised $217,845 at Christie's Paris in 2011.
A map of Boston dating to the time of the American revolution is estimated to make $10,000-15,000.
The 1776 map shows the positions of the rebels and the British - including details of batteries, and references to the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill.
We have this lottery ticket from 1768 that features the signature of revolutionary commander and president George Washington.
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