The noted antiquarian, James Phinney Baxter of Portland, Maine, commissioned copies of many historical maps located in Great Britain and Europe in the late 19th century. He later donated this collection of approximately ninety maps to the State of Maine. These copies now reside among the holdings of the Maine State Archives.
The term septentrion (and its various forms) refers to the northern regions. This term comes from the Latin meaning the “seven plow oxen” referring to the seven principal stars of Ursa Major (the Big Dipper), of which Polaris (the North star) is one. From that root it was generalized and used in cartography to signify the northerly direction. Descriptions courtesy of Leventhal Map Library http://www.leventhalmap.org/, Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/maps/, http://raremaps.com, the Osher Map Library http://www.oshermaps.org/, and others.
Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing.
![BMC 24--America Septentrionalis a Domini d'Anville in Galliis edita nunc in Anglia. Coloniis in interiorem Virginiam deductis nec non Fluvii Ohio aucta cursu notisque geographicis et historicis illustrata. [circa 1756]. by Johann Baptiste Homann and Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville](https://digitalmaine.com/arc_baxter/1041/thumbnail.jpg "BMC 24--America Septentrionalis a Domini d'Anville in Galliis edita nunc in Anglia. Coloniis in interiorem Virginiam deductis nec non Fluvii Ohio aucta cursu notisque geographicis et historicis illustrata. [circa 1756]. by Johann Baptiste Homann and Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville")
![BMC 31--Casco Bay Fort in the Province of Main[e] in America, 1705 by J. Redknap](https://digitalmaine.com/arc_baxter/1047/thumbnail.jpg "BMC 31--Casco Bay Fort in the Province of Main[e] in America, 1705 by J. Redknap")
