Georg Matthaus Seutter (1678-1756)
Profile :
After serving an apprenticeship to J.B. Homann, the successful map publisher, Seutter set up his own very successful business in Augsburg and was appointed Geographer to the Imperial Court. With his son and son-in-law, Conrad Lotter, he issued in about 1741 a large series of town plans. For much of his life he worked in competition with his old employer and, not surprisingly, his maps were often similar to those of Homann.
Georg Matthaus Seutter (1)
1730 Seutter Large Antique Map of Japan after Kaempfer - Regni Japoniae
- Title : Regni Japoniae Nova Mappa Geographica, ex indigenarum observationibus delineata ab Engelberto Kaempfero
- Date : 1730
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
- Ref: 43154
- Size: 24in x 21in (610mm x 530mm)
Description:
This large beautifully hand coloured original antique map of Japan engraved by TC Lotter - after Engebert Kaempfer - was published by Georg Mattraus Seutter in 1730.
Condition Report
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Original & later
Colors used: - Yellow, pink, green, orange, blue
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 24in x 21in (610mm x 530mm)
Plate size: - 22 1/2in x 19 ½in (570mm x 495mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Light soiling
Plate area: - Small repair adjacent to bottom centerfold, no loss
Verso: - None
Background: This beautiful map owes its cartography to a map by Engebert Kaempfer from his important publication History of Japan, based on his travels to Japan in the late 17th century and his own manuscript map, drawn sometime prior to 1716. The map presents a distorted outline for the Island of Japan with numerous political divisions delineated and named. Below the map are numerous Japanese coins and symbols including those of the army of Japan's "Prince". The entire upper left quadrant is filled with a spectacular title cartouche showing a court scene of Kaempfer presenting maps to the Japanese Emperor and other attendants.
Engelbert Kaempfer (September 16, 1651 – November 2, 1716) was a German naturalist and physician known for his tour of Russia, Persia, India, South-East Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693. He wrote two books about his travels. Amoenitatum Exoticarum, published in 1712, is important for its medical observations and the first extensive description of Japanese plants (Flora Japonica). His History of Japan, published posthumously in 1727, was the chief source of Western knowledge about the country throughout the 18th century.(Ref: M&B; Tooley)
