DESCRIPTION: This antique chart of Port Royal Sound, drawn by Herman Moll before 1732, is the earliest obtainable large-scale chart focused on the Port Royal / Beaufort, South Carolina area and one of the earliest to name Hilton Head. With locations identified for two proposed forts guarding the main channel to "Bauford Town" (Beaufort), which was located by Moll on Parris Island ("Port Royal Island"). Other noted features include St. Helena Island, with Phillips Point and St. Michaels Head. Numerous soundings and sandbars are indicated.
Moll added this description of the area below the title block: "Port Royal River lies 20 Leagues from Ashley River SW it has a bold entrance 19 or 20 foot at low-water. The Harbor is large, safe, and commodious and runs into ye best country in Carolina. Here ye air is always cleer and agreeable to Europian constitutions".
This old map of Port Royal, Hilton Head, and Beaufort S.C. is from the 3rd edition of Moll's "Atlas Minor: or a New and Curious Set of Sixty-two Maps", published for Thomas and John Bowles in 1736.
Herman Moll (circa 1654-1732)
Herman Moll distinguished himself as an eminent cartographer, engraver, and publisher, gaining substantial recognition for his work during the latter part of the 17th and the early 18th centuries. Originally based in London, Moll began his profession as an engraver, producing work as early as the 1670s. It wasn't long before he expanded his repertoire to include cartography and map publishing, often collaborating with renowned cartographers and publishers of his time.
With the dawn of the 18th century, Moll's career took off. His cartographic portfolio was impressively varied, spanning maps of England and the British Isles, the American colonies, Africa, the entire world, and even the solar system. Among his most distinguished works are "The World Described," an anthology of 30 individual maps published in a variety of editions between 1715 and 1753, and the large-scale "Atlas Geographus," which was published in monthly installments from 1708 to 1717.
One of the characteristic traits of Moll's maps lies in their elaborate cartouches, or decorative map titles, and the comprehensive textual commentary they included. His maps often bore a reflection of Britain's geopolitical and colonial interests during that era, drawing attention to regions of significant commercial and strategic value.
Beyond his contributions as a cartographer, Moll also played an active role in the intellectual circles of early 18th-century London. He maintained associations with prominent individuals of his time, including the famed writer Jonathan Swift and the notorious pirate William Dampier.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1736
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: United States
BODY OF WATER: Port Royal Sound
CONDITION: Very Good.
Strong impression and platemark. On clean chain-laid watermarked paper.
COLORING: Outline hand color.
ENGRAVER: Moll
SIZE: 10
" x
8 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 3
PRICE: $425
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