John Smith’s map of Jamestown published in 1612

A small poster showing an early map of Jamestown, Virginia first published in 1612 discovered and described by Captain John Smith and engraved by William Hole.

As described by the National Park Service:

“Captain John Smith created the first detailed map of the Chesapeake Region. His masterpiece map of Virginia, published in 1612, remained in active use for seven decades and opened this part of North American to European exploration, settlement, and trade. The geographical accuracy is astounding given that Smith traveled about 2,500 miles in a series of short expeditions and had only primitive mapmaking tools to work with.

“The map shows . . .

“Smith's map records not only the geographic features of the Chesapeake, but also its cultural aspects, including more than 200 Indian towns. Many of the place names remain in use today.“

”John Smith was careful to distinguish between places he had seen and those he learned about from the Native Americans. On his map, he used cross symbols to indicate the boundaries of the areas he had seen for himself. He have this explanation of the crosses shown on the 1612 map: ‘. . .  in which map observe this: that as far as you see the little crosses on rivers, mountains, or other places, have been discovered; the rest was had by information of the savages, and are set down according to their instructions.’”

This remained the most influential map of Virginia until the last quarter of the 17th century and many of the place names used by Smith remain in use.

Founded in 1607, the Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.

Size: 11" x 8.5”

This print is a part of our "History Lover" Small poster and print collection with 8 bestselling prints and posters and where you can save as much as $20.

Also available, the "Mayflower passengers and those who survived the first year" in a large poster and a smaller, foldout print.

About the paper weight and printing process: Printed on a 10 pt. Cardstock matte using standard inks. (This makes it much more affordable than an archival print, archival inks on archival paper.)