[MONTRESOR, John.] A Plan of the City and Environ

[MONTRESOR, John.] A Plan of the City and Environs of Philadelphia, with the Works and Encampments of His Majesty's Forces under the Command of Lieutenant General Sir William Howe, K. B.London: William Faden, 1779. Double-page engraved map (610 x 490 mm). 18 lettered references. Condition: browning along the fold, some disruption and loss along the fold, restoration along the fold on verso, chip to the upper right margin. Provenance: Martin P. Snyder. "As soon as the Delaware waterway was secured in November 1777, the British engineer corps turned to mapping an area centering on the city itself and extending out on all sides to the newly constructed defenses" (Snyder). A departure from the Scull and Heap depiction of the region, this map is notable for its accurate portrayal of the extent of the city to eighth street, as opposed to the traditional river-to-river grid view. The references show the locations of the city's various churches and meetinghouses, as well as the British barracks and the jail. The map further depicts much other detail identified directly on the map (as opposed to on the lettered references), such as Pennsylvania hospital, a playhouse, the roads running into the city, positions of regiments and the locations of many houses (including John Dickinson's, "a Post of the rebels, burnt"). Snyder cites a December 1777 manuscript plan by Montresor, the chief engineer of the British army, as a possible source for this map, although also cites a similar drawing by Pierre Nicole. Nebenzahl, Bibliography of Printed Battle Plans 128; Snyder, COI 88 (this copy apparently illustrated as Fig. 59 but since damaged).