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A Map of the State OF VIRGINIA REDUCED from the NINE SHEET MAP of the STATE, in conformity to Law: by Herman Böÿe

Date1827

Compiler Herman Boye

Engraver Henry Schenck Tanner 1786 - 1858

Engraver E.B. Dawson

Commissioned by Commonwealth of Virginia

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumLaid paper, linen, watercolor, ink, and silk

DimensionsOverall: 30 × 48 in (76.2 × 121.92cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2026-96

DescriptionHerman Böÿe, A Map of the State OF VIRGINIA REDUCED from the NINE SHEET MAP of the STATE, in conformity to Law: by Herman Böÿe. [Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia], 1827, PURCHASE, Boston Rare MapsLabel TextThis is a reduced-scale copy of the first map of Virginia funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1816, realizing the need for a new and complete survey of the state, the Virginia legislature passed an act to create a map of the state.
John Wood was appointed to supervise the project intially, overseeing the completion of surveys for 96 of Virginia's then 102 counties. After his death in 1822, died in 1822, having completed maps of 96 of Virginia’s then 102 counties. The task of completing the map fell to Danish surveyor Herman Böÿe to compete the project and compile the map. Though dated 1826, 400 copies of the nine-sheet map were printed in Philadelphia was distributed in early 1827. Later that year, the Virginia legislature commissioned a reduced, four-sheet version of the map (this copy) which was published in Richmond and engraved and printed in Philadelphia by Tanner and Dawson.

These maps became outdated necessitating the General Assembly to commission the Board of Public Works in 1849 to commence work on revising the original work of Wood and Böÿe. It took ten years to include all of the changes that the state had undergone since the 1820s including 42 new counties.To cut costs, the state required that the original copperplates used for the 1826/27 nine-sheet map were updated. Finally, in 1859, the revised version of the nine-sheet map, known as the Böÿe-Buchholtz map (2017-167) was published. A four-sheet reduced copy followed. Both maps served an important role for both sides during the Civil War.
ProvenanceBefore 2026, [Michael Buehler, Boston Rare Maps, Southampton, MA]; 2026-present, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)