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the North Carolina coast. “That’s Lake Mattamuskeet,” he explains. “It’s remark-able how accurate he was when he drew that. How in the world did he do that?” The names on the map often bear little resemblance to the place names found on modern maps. On the 1606 Hondius- Mercator map, Cape Lookout is labeled as Cape Fear, with the further warning that it is a Promontorium Tremendum, or “terrible cape.” Cape Romain, in South Carolina, is drawn just to the south. The collector is the proudest of a 1775 map of the Carolinas surveyed and drawn by Henry Mouzon. Printed in London’s American Atlas, the map is in four sections, each measuring roughly 20- by 28-inches. “The state archives got themselves a Mouzon, and they were so excited,” the col-lector says. “At the time, they said South Carolina didn’t have one. I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but it’s what they were chortling about in Raleigh. So I went and got me a Mouzon.” All four panels of the map are on display in a huge frame that takes up a full half of the space dedicated to the map wall. The Mouzon map is notable for it s detail, depicti ng not just geographical features, but also man-made landmarks like Quaker meeti ng houses, plantati ons and other it ems of historical interest. That degree of detail makes the map relevant to modern scholars seeking information about the locations of historic places in the Carolinas from the colonial era. South Carolina Huguenot surveyor Henry Mouzon’s 1775 map of the two Carolinas is still used by modern scholars as a primary source of information about the colonial period because of its detail and thoroughness. 52 WBM march 2014


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