The first marine atlas produced in the colonies was drawn by Captain Cyprian Southack (1662-1745). He is of great importance in North American cartography. Of the first five printed maps published in North America four are by Southack. Two of these do not survive in any known example. Of the original eight-sheet map only eight known ‘complete’ examples survive in the various editions. Southack was born in England and followed his father’s footsteps into the navy. He was only 10 years old when he first took part in a sea-battle. At 23 he went to Boston and entered into the service of the colony of Massachusetts. In 1690 Southack as part owner and captain of the man-of-war Mary, was hired to join the Phips expedition in the sacking of Port Royal. He was to journey up the coast on raids to Acadia on at least two other occasions. In 1704, under John March and again in 1707 under Benjamin Church. He did not take part in Walker’s aborted mission against Quebec in 1711 but took an active role in the planning stages. He was already gaining a reputation as a cartographer.

His home remained in Boston where Southack married Elizabeth Oakley and had 11 children. He took a significant role in the administration at Annapolis Royal and was appointed to its first Council in 1720. All the time Southack continued his trading and fishing activities. The eight-sheet marine atlas was first published in London sometime between 1729 and 1731. In 1732 a reduction in two sheets, in similar proportions, was published in the ‘English Pilot Fourth Book’, it was dated 1731. At an unknown date most likely not much later this less elongated map was published separately by John Senex, it covered the same territory.

The map depicts the north-east coast from New York to the eastern tip of Nova Scotia. This was a functional chart and as such includes large numbers of soundings, hazards and sand banks. The cartography is still lacking somewhat in accuracy even in the New England coastline but is still a great leap from earlier maps. Its key importance is not the relative accuracy of the coastlines but the detail within. There are distortions to Massachusetts coastline and Nova Scotia. Topographical detail is included, particularly in Nova Scotia and New England where it extends inland in detail featuring the Hudson, Connecticut and Merrimack Rivers. Along with an inset of the North Atlantic Ocean there is one of the ‘Town of Boston’ derived from John Bonnor’s plan of 1722. This is an addition which was not present on the original eight-sheet map.

Of the two reductions this is the only one to bear Southack’s name alluding possibly to the more official approval given this by him. Indeed Baynton-Williams suggests that the eight-sheet might have been engraved by Senex also. There are four states of the map; a second also by Senex added a third sheet extending the map to Newfoundland effectively covering the entrance to the St. Lawrence River. A third state omitting the extended sheet was issued by William Herbert and Robert Sayer. This fourth and last state was published by the firm of Mount and Page and included in editions of the ‘English Pilot Fourth Book’ from 1775 to 1794. A similar conditioned example sold at Swann Galleries 5 December 1996 lot 251 where it sold for $2,530. Baynton-Williams ‘The Charting of New England’ no. 82; Le Gear ‘The New England Coasting Pilot of Cyprian Southack’ in Imago Mundi no. 11 pp. 137-44; McCorkle 735.1; Sellers & Van Ee 204.