Library recovers stolen map from 1612

BOSTON (AP) — A centuries-old map compiled by French explorer Samuel de Champlain and believed to be among dozens stolen more than a decade ago from the Boston Public Library has been recovered, according to library officials.

The map, compiled in 1612 and named Carte Geographique de Nouvelle, was found at a New York City arts dealer, where it was on sale for $285,000, the library said.

It was identified by Ronald Grim, curator of the library’s Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, who spotted it in an antiques publication over the summer.

The 17-inch-by-30-inch map depicts the coast of New England and the Canadian maritime provinces and an area as far west as the Great Lakes, part of a region once known as New France. Champlain made numerous voyages to the region in the early 17th century and included the map in a book published in Paris in 1613.

The library did not identify the antique dealer selling the map, but it said the dealer had been retained by a third party to sell it on commission and fully cooperated with the recovery.