Manuscript Map on Vellum Depicting Colonial Governor of Massachusetts Sir Francis Bernard's Royal Land Grant of the Region of Coastal Maine on Either Side and Including Mt. Desert Island, and Inland as Far as the St. Lawrence River

Pen, ink, and wash on vellum, done on a scale of approximately 1 inch per 9 miles. Later cartouche on paper mounted to the lower right corner, reading "Map of Sir Francis Bernard's American Estate and the Adjoining Country." Mounted to board. Provenance: Sir Francis Bernard, Colonial Governor of Massachusetts (1712-1779); by descent to Robert Spencer Bernard, Nether Winchendon House, Buckinghamshire, England. An incredible eighteenth-century manuscript map on vellum accomplished for Massachusetts Colonial Governor Sir Francis Bernard: among the earliest English surveys of the interior of Maine, and shows Mt. Desert Island. In November 1969, noted historian of cartography William P. Cumming discovered in the family home of Sir Francis Bernard "a collection of maps that, in purpose and type, differed so markedly from the more usual military, coastal, and general colonial maps of the time that it stands out in both interest and importance. These were domestic maps, of a gentleman's estates and the roads to them." [Cumming] Specifically describing the present map, Cumming writes: "This beautifully drawn map, in black ink with bays, rivers, and lakes colored in green, shows the coast from Broad Bay past Penobscot Bay and its islands, to 'Passmaquiddy Bay' and Saint Croix River. The shoreline from Mount Desert Island to Passamaquoddy Bay is unmarked. The course of the St. Croix River to the Grand Lakes, the Penobscot to Chesuncook Lake, and the upper reaches of the Kennebec River to Mooshead Lake are traced carefully, with the beginning of the overland trail to the River St. Lawrence." [Cumming] Sir Francis Bernard became the Colonial Governor of Massachusetts in late 1759, shortly after British troops were victorious in the Battle of Quebec. That decisive French and Indian War victory opened a vast region of present-day Maine for potential English settlement. To honor their new governor, the Massachusetts Assembly petitioned the Crown to grant to Bernard "the Island of Mount Desart [sic] lying north eastward of Penboscot Bay." Bernard quickly began to establish a scheme to colonize the lands, thereby affirming his grant. Writing to Viscount Barrington in June 1763, Bernard revealed his intentions to survey the region: "I propose to reconnoitre this Country this Summer with great accuracy, the assembly having authorised me to employ a Mathematician to make observations all along the Coast. I have a very good Man for that purpose, the Professor of Mathematics at this College [i.e. John Winthrop], whom I shall accompany, and assist myself. And I shall make a further progress in surveying Mount Desert, unless I am ordered off from home. I have concluded with 60 families with a Minister at their head and a Merchant to supply'm to settle there this Summer upon a plan already laid out: I want only power to make them a title. There are also 920 families ready to settle upon the continent adjoining to the Islands in 12 Townships already mark't out. I shall greive much (setting aside my own interest) if this settlement should be defeated; as it is compactly planned and laid out to great advantage. And when I consider how much it has Cost the Government of Great Britain to settle 4000 Souls in some other Parts of America, I think it will be a great pity that such a Settlement should be refused when offered to be brought forward at no public expence at all. For my own part I have been drawn into this scheme imperceptibly: and now the People call on me to be their leader, which I shall decline no longer, than till I can learn that my establishing a New Colony in a desert (which will long remain unpeopled if this opportunity is neglected) will be approved." [Bernard to Barrington, 15 June 1763, quoted in Barrington-Bernard Correspondence, p.70] The twelve townships referred to by Bernard are depicted on the present manuscript map via thin black lines. The year following that letter to Barrington, the present manuscript map was drawn by the talen.…