OTTENS, Reinier (1698-1750) & Josua OTTENS (1704-65). Carte Des Possessions Angloises & Francoises Du Continent De L'Amerique Septentionale.... Amsterdam: R. and J. Ottens, 1755. Engraved map, full period hand-colouring. Sheet size: 22 3/4 x 26 inches.

First issue of the Ottens map of the French and English possessions, published on the eve of the French and Indian War.

In 1755, Ottens issued a Dutch version of Jean Palairet's important map. The map showed the French and English territorial claims on the eve of the French and Indian War, with the colouring reflecting those claims. The English possessions are shown in yellow, with much of the region between the Appalachians and the Mississippi shown in pink reflecting territory occupied by English settlers or peuples allies de l'Angleterre. The French claims are coloured in green, encompassing much of Canada and all of a vast Louisiana. French forts are circled in red and a red boundary line extends through Acadia to Lake Ontario. A second issue of the map was published following the Treaty of Paris which ended the war. In that issue, the date has been removed from the title and the colouring keys removed from either side of the scale of miles and the hand colouring on the map reflects the new boundaries following the war.

A rare and colourful map of North America published on the eve of the war.

Sellers & Van Ee, Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies 58; McCorkle, New England in Early Printed Maps 755.9; Phillips, A List of Maps of America, p. 575.