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The Huntington Library has an interesting map entitled "Map of North America with Hudson's Bay and Straits, Anno 1748." The map is by R. W. Seale and bears both the Royal Coat of Arms and the Arms of the Hudson's Bay Company. Map dimensions are 42 cm vertical by 80 cm horizontal, it is a hand colored engraving. Leon Kashnor, from whom the Huntington acquired the map in the 1920's, states that the map was privately issued by the Hudson's Bay Company as evidence for a Parliamentary inquiry instigated by those opposed to the Company's monopoly. The map shows a near connection between the Great Lakes and La Hontan's mythical Long River. Westward, another short portage from that river would allow access to the Western Sea. The Mississippi River also connects with the Long River. Kashnor felt the map was issued to attempt to show an alternate North-West Passage and take heat off the HBC for not exploring their area further. The map is curious since Seale had done earlier maps with better geography, Kashnor suggests the contents were dictated to Seale. In any case, the strategy must have backfired because Kashnor says all copies, save this one, were destroyed.
My question then is, are there in fact other copies of this map in existence?
If the map proves of interest, I'll seek permission to post an image on the MapHist website.