Europe (17)
1574 Abraham Ortelius Antique Map of Spain & Portugal - Regni Hispaniae
- Title : Regni Hispaniae Post Omnium Editiones Locvplessima Descriptio
- Ref #: 82078
- Size: 21 1/2in x 16in (545mm x 405mm)
- Date : 1574
- Condition: (A) Very Good Condition
Description:
This beautifully hand coloured original antique map of Spain & Portugal, 1st edition - based on the cartographic work of Charles de L Escluse - was published by Abraham Ortelius in the 1574 Latin edition of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.
Ortelius published a total of 8175 of this map between 1570 to 1641 in 4 States. According to Marcel Van den Broecke there are estimated to be only 155 loose copies in circulation today.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 21 1/2in x 16in (545mm x 405mm)
Plate size: - 19 1/2in x 15in (495mm x 380mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Small repair to bottom margin
Plate area: - Small repair adjacent to bottom centerfold, no loss
Verso: - Centerfold re-enforced on verso
Background:
Many of the original charts and maps drawn by the first Portuguese and Spanish navigators have survived for the very good reason that, on completion of their voyages, pilots were obliged to hand over their manuscript notes to the Casa da India (founded 1504) in Lisbon or to the equivalent Casa de Contrataci6n de las Indias (founded 1504) in Seville. The clear intention was to maintain secrecy over new discoveries and control over the distribution of cartographic material, not always successfully, as it happened; pilots and navigators seem to have changed allegiance with impunity and, in consequence, many of the earliest and most informative charts were compiled as far away as Genoa, Venice, Florence and Ancona, presumably from sources outside the Portuguese and Spanish \'Casas\'.It is apparent that few manuscripts reached the printing stage and, indeed, are so rare that any study of them must be regarded as a specialist subject. (Ref Tooley M&B)
1628 Henricus Hondius Antique Map of the Basque Region of Spain
Antique Map
- Title : Legionis, Biscaiae Et Guipiscoae Typus
- Date : 1628
- Size: 22 1/2in x 18 1/2in (570mm x 470mm)
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
- Ref: 35641
Description:
This beautifully engraved hand coloured original antique map of Basque Region of Spain was published in the 1628 French edition of Mercator's atlas by Jan Jansson and Henricus Hondius.
These maps, published in the later editions of Mercators atlas, are derived from the original maps drawn and engraved by Gerald Mercator in the mid to late 16th century, published by his son Rumold as an atlas, after his death, in 1595. After two editions the plates were purchased by Jodocus Hondius in 1604 and continued to be published until the mid 1630's when the plates were re-engraved and updated by Jan Jansson and Henricus Hondius.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original & later
Colors used: - Yellow, green, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 22 3/4in x 19 3/4in (580mm x 500mm)
Plate size: - 20in x 13 3/4in (500mm x 350mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
1788 Vicente Tofino Large Antique Map of San Sebastian & La Concha, Basque Spain
- Title : Plano de la plaza y puerto de San Sebastian Capital de la Provincia de Guipuzcoa, situado el castillo de la Mota en... Ano 1788
- Size: 23 1/2in x 17in (595mm x 435mm)
- Condition: (B) Good Condition
- Date : 1788
- Ref #: 80774
Description:
This large original copper plate engraved scarce antique map of the city of San Sebastian and the Bay of La Concha on the northern Basque coast of Spain by the Spanish navigator and cosmographer Vincente Tofiño de San Miguel was engraved in 1788 - dated - and was published in Tofinos 1789 edition of Derrotero de las costas de España en el Océano Atlántico y de las islas Azores o Terceras, para inteligencia y uso de las cartas esféricas (Pilots Log-book of the Coasts of Spain in the Atlantic Ocean and of the Azores, for the use of naval intelligence and nautical charts).
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 23 1/2in x 17in (595mm x 435mm)
Plate size: - 23 1/2in x 17in (595mm x 435mm)
Margins: - Min 1/4in (5mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - 5 small repairs to margins going into image
Plate area: - Soiling, small separation of bottom centerfold
Verso: - Soiling
Background:
San Sebastián is a coastal city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain
After a long period of silence in evidence, in 1014 the monastery of St. Sebastián with its apple orchards (for cider), located in the term of Hernani, is donated to the Abbey of Leire by Sancho III of Pamplona. By 1181, the city is chartered (given fuero) by king Sancho VI of Pamplona on the site of Izurum, having jurisdiction over all the territory between the rivers Oria and Bidasoa.
In 1200, the city was conquered by Castile, whose king Alfonso VIII, confirmed its charter (fuero), but the Kingdom of Navarre was deprived of its main direct access out to the sea. Perhaps as soon as 1204 (or earlier), the city nucleus at the foot of Urgull started to be populated with Gascon-speaking colonizers from Bayonne and beyond, who left an important imprint in the citys identity in the centuries to come.
In 1265, the use of the city as a seaport is granted to Navarre as part of a wedding pact. The large quantity of Gascons inhabiting the town favoured the development of trade with other European ports and Gascony. The city steered clear of the destructive War of the Bands in Gipuzkoa, the only town in doing so in that territory. In fact, the town only joined Gipuzkoa in 1459 after the war came to an end. Up to the 16th century, Donostia remained mostly out of wars, but by the beginning of the 15th century, a line of walls of simple construction is attested encircling the town. The last chapter of the town in the Middle Ages was brought about by a fire that devastated Donostia in 1489. After burning to the ground, the town began a new renaissance by building up mainly with stone instead of bare timber.
The advent of the Modern Age brought a period of instability and war for the city. New state boundaries were drawn that left Donostia located close to Spains border with France; thicker and more sophisticated walls were erected, with the town becoming involved in the 1521-1524 military campaigns that formed part of the Spanish conquest of Navarre. The town provided critical naval help to Emperor Charles V during the siege of Hondarribia, which earned the town the titles Muy Noble y Muy Leal, recorded on its coat of arms. The town also aided the monarch by sending a party to the Battle of Noain and providing help to quash the Revolt of the Comuneros in 1521.
After these events, Gascons, who had played a leading role in the political and economic life of the town since its foundation, began to be excluded from influential public positions by means of a string of regional sentences upheld by royal decision (regional diets of Zestoa 1527, Hondarribia 1557, Bergara 1558, Tolosa 1604 and Deba 1662). Meanwhile, the climate of war and disease left the town in a poor condition that drove many fishermen and traders to take to the sea as corsairs as a way of getting a living, most of the times under the auspices of the king Philip II of Spain, who benefited from the disruption caused to and wealth obtained from the French and Dutch trade ships.
In 1656, the city was used as the royal headquarters during the marriage of the Infanta to Louis XIV at Saint-Jean-de-Luz nearby. After a relatively peaceful 17th century, the town was besieged and taken over by the troops of the French Duke of Berwick up to 1721. However, San Sebastián was not spared by shelling in the French assault and many urban structures were reconstructed, e.g. a new opening in the middle of the town, the Plaza Berria (that was to become the current Konstituzio Plaza).
In 1728, the Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas was founded and boosted commerce with the Americas. Thanks to the profit the company generated, the town underwent some urban reforms and improvements and the new Santa Maria Church was erected by subscription. This period of wealth and development was to last up to the end of 18th century.
In 1808, Napoleonic forces captured San Sebastián in the Peninsular War. In 1813, after a siege of various weeks, on 28 August, during the night, a landing party from a British Royal Navy squadron captured Santa Clara Island, in the bay. Situated on a narrow promontory that jutted out into the sea between the waters of the Bay of Biscay and the broad estuary of the Urumea River, the town was hard to get at and well fortified – it was the strongest fortification I ever saw, Gibraltar excepted, wrote William Dent. Three days later, on 31 August, British and Portuguese troops besieging San Sebastián assaulted the town. The relieving troops ransacked and burnt the city to the ground. Only the street at the foot of the hill (now called 31 August Street) remained.
Vicente Tofino de San Miguel y Wanderiales 1732 - 1795
Vicente Tofino de San Miguel y Wanderiales (or Vanderiales) was a Spanish navigator and cosmographer.
He studied experimental physics and then joined the army, which he subsequently left. In 1755 Jorge Juan asked Tofiño to join the faculty of the Academy of Marines at Cádiz (Academia de Guardia Marinas de Cádiz) as a mathematics instructor, while also allowing Tofiño to join the Armada as a second lieutenant (alférez de navío). In 1768 Tofiño was named Director of the Academy and in 1773, was named Director of the Academies of Ferrol and Cartagena as well. He participated in the expeditions against Algiers (1773) and the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1782). He acquired the rank of Brigadier of the Armada in 1784, and in 1789 the rank of Rear Admiral.
He planned the initial construction, and worked at, the Royal Institute and Observatory of the Armada (Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada) of the Company of Marines, publishing observations with great scientific skill, like the transit of Venus by the Sun, taking advantage of an eclipse on 3 June 1796.
Tofiño went to sea and the result of this was several works, including Derrotero de las costas de España en el mar Mediterráneo y África (1787) (Pilots Log-book of the Coasts of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea and Africa); his colección de cartas esféricas de las costas de España y África... (1788) (Collection of Nautical Charts of the Coasts of Spain and Africa) and the Derrotero de las costas de España en el Océano Atlántico y de las islas Azores o Terceras, para inteligencia y uso de las cartas esféricas (1789) (Pilots Log-book of the Coasts of Spain in the Atlantic Ocean and of the Azores, for the use of naval intelligence and nautical charts).
Due to an error in transcription on one of Tofiños maps, the island of Mogro (Santander) came to be called Mouro Island. Tofino Inlet, from which the town of Tofino got its name, was named in 1792 by the Spanish explorers Galiano and Valdés, in honor of Admiral Tofiño, under whom Galiano had learned cartography.
1696 Alexis Jaillot Large Antique Map of Spain, Portugal & Balearic Islands
- Title : L Espagne divisee en tous ses Royaumes et Principautes...Chez H Jaillot....1696
- Size: 36 1/2in x 23in (930mm x 585mm)
- Condition: (B) Good Condition
- Date : 1696
- Ref #: 35001
Description:
This very large, hand coloured original antique map of Spain & Portugal, by Alexis Hubert Jaillot - after Nicolas Sanson - was engraved in 1696 - the date is engraved in the title cartouche.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 36 1/2in x 23in (930mm x 585mm)
Plate size: - 35in x 23in (845mm x 600mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Soiling and creasing in margins
Plate area: - Light uplift along folds, soiling & creasing to bottom of map
Verso: - Soiling, creasing, old neutralised tape residue
Background:
In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. 1478 commenced the completion of the conquest of the Canary Islands and in 1492, the combined forces of Castile and Aragon captured the Emirate of Granada from its last ruler Muhammad XII, ending the last remnant of a 781-year presence of Islamic rule in Iberia. That same year, Spains Jews were ordered to convert to Catholicism or face expulsion from Spanish territories during the Spanish Inquisition. As many as 200,000 Jews were expelled from Spain. This was followed by expulsions in 1493 in Aragonese Sicily and Portugal in 1497. The Treaty of Granada guaranteed religious tolerance towards Muslims, for a few years before Islam was outlawed in 1502 in the Kingdom of Castile and 1527 in the Kingdom of Aragon, leading to Spains Muslim population becoming nominally Christian Moriscos. A few decades after the Morisco rebellion of Granada known as the War of the Alpujarras, a significant proportion of Spains formerly-Muslim population was expelled, settling primarily in North Africa. From 1609–14, over 300,000 Moriscos were sent on ships to North Africa and other locations, and, of this figure, around 50,000 died resisting the expulsion, and 60,000 died on the journey.
The year 1492 also marked the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World, during a voyage funded by Isabella. Columbuss first voyage crossed the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean Islands, beginning the European exploration and conquest of the Americas, although Columbus remained convinced that he had reached the Orient. Large numbers of indigenous Americans died in battle against the Spaniards during the conquest, while others died from various other causes. Some scholars consider the initial period of the Spanish conquest— from Columbuss first landing in the Bahamas until the middle of the sixteenth century—as marking the most egregious case of genocide in the history of mankind. The death toll may have reached some 70 million indigenous people (out of 80 million) in this period.
The colonisation of the Americas started with conquistadores like Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro. Miscegenation was the rule between the native and the Spanish cultures and people. Juan Sebastian Elcano completed the first voyage around the world in human history, the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation. Florida was colonised by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés when he founded St. Augustine, Florida and then defeated an attempt led by the French Captain Jean Ribault to establish a French foothold in Spanish Florida territory. St. Augustine became a strategic defensive base for Spanish ships full of gold and silver sailing to Spain. Andrés de Urdaneta discovered the tornaviaje or return route from the Philippines to Mexico, making possible the Manila galleon trading route. The Spanish once again encountered Islam, but this time in Southeast Asia and in order to incorporate the Philippines, Spanish expeditions organised from newly Christianised Mexico had invaded the Philippine territories of the Sultanate of Brunei. The Spanish considered the war with the Muslims of Brunei and the Philippines, a repeat of the Reconquista. The Spanish explorer Blas Ruiz intervened in Cambodias succession and installed Crown Prince Barom Reachea II as puppet.
As Renaissance New Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand centralised royal power at the expense of local nobility, and the word España, whose root is the ancient name Hispania, began to be commonly used to designate the whole of the two kingdoms. With their wide-ranging political, legal, religious and military reforms, Spain emerged as the first world power. The death of their son Prince John caused the Crown to pass to Charles I (the Emperor Charles V), son of Juana la Loca.
The unification of the crowns of Aragon and Castile by the marriage of their sovereigns laid the basis for modern Spain and the Spanish Empire, although each kingdom of Spain remained a separate country socially, politically, legally, and in currency and language.
There were two big revolts against the new Habsburg monarch and the more authoritarian and imperial-style crown: Revolt of the Comuneros in Castile and Revolt of the Brotherhoods in Majorca and Valencia. After years of combat, Comuneros Juan López de Padilla, Juan Bravo and Francisco Maldonado were executed and María Pacheco went into exile. Germana de Foix also finished with the revolt in the Mediterranean.
Habsburg Spain was Europes leading power throughout the 16th century and most of the 17th century, a position reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions and became the worlds leading maritime power. It reached its apogee during the reigns of the first two Spanish Habsburgs—Charles I (1516–1556) and Philip II (1556–1598). This period saw the Italian Wars, the Schmalkaldic War, the Dutch Revolt, the War of the Portuguese Succession, clashes with the Ottomans, intervention in the French Wars of Religion and the Anglo-Spanish War.
Through exploration and conquest or royal marriage alliances and inheritance, the Spanish Empire expanded to include vast areas in the Americas, islands in the Asia-Pacific area, areas of Italy, cities in Northern Africa, as well as parts of what are now France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The first circumnavigation of the world was carried out in 1519–1521. It was the first empire on which it was said that the sun never set. This was an Age of Discovery, with daring explorations by sea and by land, the opening-up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginnings of European colonialism. Spanish explorers brought back precious metals, spices, luxuries, and previously unknown plants, and played a leading part in transforming the European understanding of the globe. The cultural efflorescence witnessed during this period is now referred to as the Spanish Golden Age. The expansion of the empire caused immense upheaval in the Americas as the collapse of societies and empires and new diseases from Europe devastated American indigenous populations. The rise of humanism, the Counter-Reformation and new geographical discoveries and conquests raised issues that were addressed by the intellectual movement now known as the School of Salamanca, which developed the first modern theories of what are now known as international law and human rights. Juan Luis Vives was another prominent humanist during this period.
Spains 16th century maritime supremacy was demonstrated by the victory over the Ottomans at Lepanto in 1571, and then after the setback of the Spanish Armada in 1588, in a series of victories against England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604. However, during the middle decades of the 17th century Spains maritime power went into a long decline with mounting defeats against the United Provinces and then England; that by the 1660s it was struggling grimly to defend its overseas possessions from pirates and privateers.
The Protestant Reformation dragged the kingdom ever more deeply into the mire of religiously charged wars. The result was a country forced into ever expanding military efforts across Europe and in the Mediterranean. By the middle decades of a war- and plague-ridden 17th-century Europe, the Spanish Habsburgs had enmeshed the country in continent-wide religious-political conflicts. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the economy generally. Spain managed to hold on to most of the scattered Habsburg empire, and help the imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire reverse a large part of the advances made by Protestant forces, but it was finally forced to recognise the separation of Portugal and the United Provinces, and eventually suffered some serious military reverses to France in the latter stages of the immensely destructive, Europe-wide Thirty Years War. In the latter half of the 17th century, Spain went into a gradual decline, during which it surrendered several small territories to France and England; however, it maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire, which remained intact until the beginning of the 19th century.
The decline culminated in a controversy over succession to the throne which consumed the first years of the 18th century. The War of the Spanish Succession was a wide-ranging international conflict combined with a civil war, and was to cost the kingdom its European possessions and its position as one of the leading powers on the Continent. During this war, a new dynasty originating in France, the Bourbons, was installed. Long united only by the Crown, a true Spanish state was established when the first Bourbon king, Philip V, united the crowns of Castile and Aragon into a single state, abolishing many of the old regional privileges and laws.
The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and an increase in prosperity through much of the empire. The new Bourbon monarchy drew on the French system of modernising the administration and the economy. Enlightenment ideas began to gain ground among some of the kingdoms elite and monarchy. Bourbon reformers created formal disciplined militias across the Atlantic. Spain needed every hand it could take during the seemingly endless wars of the eighteenth century—the Spanish War of Succession or Queen Annes War (1702–13), the War of Jenkins Ear (1739–42) which became the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), the Seven Years War (1756–63) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1779–83)—and its new disciplined militias served around the Atlantic as needed.
1628 Henricus Hondius Antique Map Valencia Region of Spain & Mediterranean Sea
Antique Map
- Title : Regni Valentiae Typus
- Date : 1628
- Size: 22 1/2in x 18 1/2in (570mm x 470mm)
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
- Ref: 35640
Description:
This beautifully engraved hand coloured original antique map of Valencia Region of Spain was published in the 1628 French edition of Mercator's atlas by Jan Jansson and Henricus Hondius.
These maps, published in the later editions of Mercators atlas, are derived from the original maps drawn and engraved by Gerald Mercator in the mid to late 16th century, published by his son Rumold as an atlas, after his death, in 1595. After two editions the plates were purchased by Jodocus Hondius in 1604 and continued to be published until the mid 1630's when the plates were re-engraved and updated by Jan Jansson and Henricus Hondius.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original & later
Colors used: - Yellow, green, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 22 3/4in x 19 3/4in (580mm x 500mm)
Plate size: - 20in x 13 3/4in (500mm x 350mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Light soiling
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
1757 Robert De Vaugondy Large Antique Map Spain, Portugal & The Balearic Islands
- Title : 1757 Robert De Vaugondy Large Antique Map Spain, Portugal & The Balearic Islands
- Size: 26in x 20in (660mm x 510mm)
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
- Date : 1757
- Ref #: 41585
Description:
This magnificent hand coloured original copper-plate engraved antique map of Spain, Portugal & The Balearic Islands by Robert De Vaugondy was published in the 1757 edition of De Vaugondys famous The Atlas Universel
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original & later
Colors used: - Blue, pink, red, green, yellow
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 26in x 20in (660mm x 510mm)
Plate size: - 21in x 19 1/2in (535mm x 495mm)
Margins: - Min 1/4in (5mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
Background:
Many of the original charts and maps drawn by the first Portuguese and Spanish navigators have survived for the very good reason that, on completion of their voyages, pilots were obliged to hand over their manuscript notes to the Casa da India (founded 1504) in Lisbon or to the equivalent Casa de Contrataci6n de las Indias (founded 1504) in Seville. The clear intention was to maintain secrecy over new discoveries and control over the distribution of cartographic material, not always successfully, as it happened; pilots and navigators seem to have changed allegiance with impunity and, in consequence, many of the earliest and most informative charts were compiled as far away as Genoa, Venice, Florence and Ancona, presumably from sources outside the Portuguese and Spanish \\\'Casas\\\'.It is apparent that few manuscripts reached the printing stage and, indeed, are so rare that any study of them must be regarded as a specialist subject. (Ref Tooley M&B)
1728 Hermann Moll Large Antique Map and View of Gibraltar - 2nd Spanish Seige
- Title : A New and Exact plan of Gibraltar with all its fortifications as they are at present….
- Ref #: 40838
- Size: 25in x 11in (635mm x 280mm)
- Date : 1727
- Condition: (B) Good Condition
Description:
This finely engraved original antique map and view of the second Spanish siege of Gibraltar by Herman Moll was published in 1727.
Although undated, the legend at the top left of the map, gives an in-depth explanation to the map including no. 5 that refers to 'Place where at this time Barracks building for a Regiment Ap: 15. 1726. 6. The Great Church.', while the dedication is to David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore, Governor of Gibraltar. The plan was presumably engraved either in anticipation of, or during the second Spanish siege; Portmore was in England when the siege began, but sailed there with a relief force, arriving on 1st May, 1727. British command of the sea, coupled with the natural features of the Rock of Gibraltar on the landward side of the peninsula, combined to thwart Spanish ambition, and the siege petered to an end in 1728, with the garrison never seriously troubled.
Background: Gibraltar became part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania following the collapse of the Roman Empire and came under Muslim Moorish rule in 711 AD. It was permanently settled for the first time by the Moors and was renamed Jebel Tariq – the Mount of Tariq, later corrupted into Gibraltar. The Christian Crown of Castile annexed it in 1309, lost it again to the Moors in 1333 and finally regained it in 1462. Gibraltar became part of the unified Kingdom of Spain and remained under Spanish rule until 1704. It was captured during the War of the Spanish Succession by an Anglo-Dutch fleet in the name of Charles VI of Austria, the Habsburg contender to the Spanish throne. At the war's end, Spain ceded the territory to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713.
Spain tried to regain control of Gibraltar, which Britain had declared a Crown colony, through military, diplomatic and economic pressure. Gibraltar was besieged and heavily bombarded during three wars between Britain and Spain but the attacks were repulsed on each occasion. By the end of the last siege, in the late 18th century, Gibraltar had faced fourteen sieges in 500 years. In the years after Trafalgar, Gibraltar became a major base in the Peninsular War. The colony grew rapidly during the 19th and early 20th centuries, becoming one of Britain's most important possessions in the Mediterranean. It was a key stopping point for vessels en route to India via the Suez Canal. A large British naval base was constructed there at great expense at the end of the 19th century and became the backbone of Gibraltar's economy.
British control of Gibraltar enabled the Allies to control the entrance to the Mediterranean during the Second World War. It was attacked on several occasions by German, Italian and Vichy French forces, though without causing much damage. The Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco declined to join a Nazi plan to occupy Gibraltar but revived Spain's claim to the territory after the war. As the territorial dispute intensified, Spain closed its border with Gibraltar between 1969 and 1985 and communications links were severed. Spain's position was supported by Latin American countries but was rejected by Britain and the Gibraltarians themselves, who vigorously asserted their right to self-determination. Discussions of Gibraltar's status have continued between Britain and Spain but have not reached any conclusion.
Shortly after Gibraltar's recapture, King Henry IV of Castile declared it Crown property and reinstituted the special privileges which his predecessor had granted during the previous period of Christian rule. Four years after visiting Gibraltar in 1463, he was overthrown by the Spanish nobility and clergy. His half-brother Alfonso was declared king and rewarded Medina Sidonia for his support with the lordship of Gibraltar. The existing governor, a loyalist of the deposed Henry IV, refused to surrender Gibraltar to Medina Sidonia. After a fifteen-month siege from April 1466 to July 1467, Medina Sidonia took control of the town. He died the following year but his son Enrique was confirmed as lord of Gibraltar by the reinstated Henry IV in 1469. In 1474 the new Duke of Medina Sidonia sold Gibraltar to a group of Jewish conversos from Cordova and Seville led by Pedro de Herrera in exchange for maintaining the garrison of the town for two years, after which time the 4,350 conversos were expelled by the Duke. His status was further enhanced by Isabella I of Castile in 1478 with the granting of the Marquisate of Gibraltar.
On 2 January 1492, after five years of war, the Moorish emirate in Spain came to an end with the Catholic Monarchs' capture of Granada. The Jews of Gibraltar were, like those elsewhere in the kingdom, expelled from Spain by order of the monarchs in March that year. Gibraltar was used by Medina Sidonia as a base for the Spanish capture of Melilla in North Africa in 1497. Two years later the Muslims of Granada were ordered to convert to Christianity or leave. Those that did not convert left for North Africa, some of them travelling via Gibraltar.
Gibraltar became Crown property again in 1501 at the order of Isabella and the following year it received a new set of royal arms, which is still used by modern Gibraltar, replacing those of Medina Sidonia. In the Royal Warrant accompanying the arms, Isabella highlighted Gibraltar's importance as "the key between these our kingdoms in the Eastern and Western Seas [the Mediterranean and Atlantic]". The metaphor was represented on the royal arms by a golden key hanging from the front gate of a battlemented fortress. The warrant charged all future Spanish monarchs to "hold and retain the said City for themselves and in their own possession; and that no alienation of it, nor any part of it, nor its jurisdiction ... shall ever be made from the Crown of Castile."
At this point in history, "Gibraltar" meant not just the peninsula but the entire surrounding area including the land on which the towns of La Línea de la Concepción, San Roque, Los Barrios and Algeciras now stand. To the east, Gibraltar was bounded by the Guadiaro River, and its northern boundaries lay in the vicinity of Castellar de la Frontera, Jimena de la Frontera, Alcalá de los Gazules, Medina-Sidonia and Tarifa. From the 16th century, the modern meaning of the name came to be adopted – specifically referring only to the town of Gibraltar and the peninsula on which it stands.
Under Spanish Crown rule, the town of Gibraltar fell into severe decline. The end of Muslim rule in Spain and the Christian capture of the southern ports considerably decreased the peninsula's strategic value. It derived some minor economic value from tuna-fishing and wine-producing industries but its usefulness as a fortress was now limited. It was effectively reduced to the status of an unremarkable stronghold on a rocky promontory and Marbella replaced it as the principal Spanish port in the region.
Gibraltar's inhospitable terrain made it an unpopular place to live. To boost the population, convicts from the kingdom of Granada were offered the possibility of serving their sentence in the Gibraltar garrison as an alternative to prison. Despite its apparent unattractiveness, Juan Alfonso de Guzmán, third Duke of Medina Sidonia, nonetheless sought to regain control of the town. In September 1506, following Isabella's death, he laid siege in the expectation that the gates would quickly be opened to his forces. This did not happen, and after a fruitless four-month blockade he gave up the attempt. Gibraltar received the title of "Most Loyal" from the Spanish crown in recognition of its faithfulness (Ref: M&B, Tooley)
General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 25in x 11in (635mm x 280mm)
Plate size: - 25in x 11in (635mm x 280mm)
Margins: - Min 1/4in (5mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Small loss to the very right figure in the title cartouche not affecting the map, light creasing along folds as issued
1745 Nicolas Tindal Antique Map Battle of Almenar Balaguer, Catalonia, Spain
- Title : Plan of the Country and Camps of Almanar, the one under Charles II and the other of the Enemy under the D of Anjou who was defeated by 16 Squadrons commanded by Lieut. Gen. Stanhope, July 27 1710
- Size: 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
- Ref #: 15653
- Date : 1745
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This original copper-plate engraved antique map, plan of the The Battle of Almenar, near Balaguer, Catalonia, Spain in 1710 - during the Spanish War of Succession (1701-13) - was engraved by John Basire and was published in the 1745 edition of Nicholas Tindals Continuation of Mr. Rapin\'s History of England.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
Plate size: - 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Repair to top margin, no loss
Plate area: - Repair to top of image, no loss
Verso: - None
Background:
The Battle of Almenar took place on 27 July 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession, between the troops of Phillip V and the Archduke Charles. Philip V\'s army having been defeated was forced to evacuate Catalonia and regroup behind the Ebro.
In spring of 1710, the Borbonic army had entered Catalonia from Aragón crossing the Segre river on March 15. On May 3, Philip V, the Borbon claimant to the throne, joined the army.
The opposing allied army, consisting of Austrian, British, and Dutch troops, was joined by Archduke Charles of Austria, the Habsburg claimant, in June.
In July, General Guido Starhemberg received reinforcements and decided to attack. He crossed the Noguera river taking up positions on the heights of Almenar.
Stanhope then crossed the Segre at Balaguer (north of Lerida) marching to the bridge of Alfarras, crossing it on 27 July.
Villadarias opened the battle with a cavalry attack which was initially successful, but the initiative was wasted by pursuing groups of fleeing enemies.
Then the British infantry attacked the left wing which fled, taking the second line with it. Then the Austrians attacked and destroyed the right wing, where Philip V risked his life fighting and was almost captured by the allies.
The Borbonic troops had to leave Catalonia and withdraw to Aragón, where the Battle of Saragossa took place on August 20.
Villadarias was relieved of his command and replaced by the Marquis de Bay.
1824 Louis Vivien Large Antique Map of Spain & Portugal
- Title : Carte De La Peninsule Hispanique...1824
- Size: 29in x 23in (740mm x 585mm)
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
- Date : 1824
- Ref #: 40717
Description:
This finely engraved original large antique map of Spain & Portugal by Louis Vivien in his Elephant Folio atlas, Atlas Universal
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original
Colors used: - Blue, pink, yellow, green
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 29in x 23in (740mm x 585mm)
Plate size: - 25in x 19in (635mm x 485mm)
Margins: - Min 2in (50mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Light soiling
Plate area: - Light soiling
Verso: - Light soiling
Background:
Many of the original charts and maps drawn by the first Portuguese and Spanish navigators have survived for the very good reason that, on completion of their voyages, pilots were obliged to hand over their manuscript notes to the Casa da India (founded 1504) in Lisbon or to the equivalent Casa de Contrataci6n de las Indias (founded 1504) in Seville. The clear intention was to maintain secrecy over new discoveries and control over the distribution of cartographic material, not always successfully, as it happened; pilots and navigators seem to have changed allegiance with impunity and, in consequence, many of the earliest and most informative charts were compiled as far away as Genoa, Venice, Florence and Ancona, presumably from sources outside the Portuguese and Spanish Casas. It is apparent that few manuscripts reached the printing stage and, indeed, are so rare that any study of them must be regarded as a specialist subject. (Ref Tooley M&B)
Vivien, Louis 1802 - 1896
Louis Vivien , or Vivien de Saint-Martin was a French geographer who was born in Saint-Martin-de-Fontenay and died in Versailles, France in 1896.
He settled in Paris under the Restoration, and became known with his publication of the Electoral and Administrative Map in 1823 and his comprehensive Universal Atlas in 1825, collaborating with Jacques Bibliomappe -Charles Bailleul from 1828. Vivien was foremost a geographer but was also a publisher of works in other fields, including historical books on the General History of the French Revolution and the History of Napoleon. He also translated various English works, such as the novels of Walter Scott .
He also wrote the New Annals of Travels between 1845 and 1854 and briefly the French Athenaeum between 1847 & 1848. He contributed to numerous periodicals such as Le Constitutionnel, Revue contemporaine, Revue germanique & La Presse. He also wrote L Année géographique between 1863 and 1875 before passing the baton to G. Maunoir and Henri Duveyrier.
He is mainly known though, for his three cartographical works, A History of Geographical Discoveries, A New Dictionary of Universal Geography and the Universal Atlas of Geography. The first of these publications he completed after the 1848 Revolution with the latter two completed by Louis Rousselet and Franz Schrader.
Vivien was Honorary President of the Geographical Society, of which he was one of the founder members. He also laureate of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres as well as a member of the Asian Society , the Society of Ethnology along with a large number of learned societies and European academies.
Main works of Vivien de Saint-Martin
- General History of the French Revolution, the Empire, the Restoration, the Monarchy of 1830, up to and including 1841 (4 volumes in 2 volumes), Paris, Pourrat Brothers, 1841-1842.
- History of Napoleon and the Empire (2 volumes), Paris, Pourrat brothers, 1844.
- History of geographical discoveries of European nations in various parts of the world (2 volumes), Paris, Arthus-Bertrand, 1845-1846.
- Research on primitive populations and the oldest traditions of the Caucasus , Paris, Arthus-Bertrand, 1847.
- Studies of Ancient Geography and Asian Ethnography (2 volumes), Paris, Arthus-Bertrand, 1850-1852.
- Historical and geographical description of Asia Minor (2 volumes), Paris, Arthus-Bertrand, 1852.
- Study on the Greek and Latin Geography of India , Paris, Imperial Printing, 1858.
- Study on the geography and the primitive populations of north-west India, according to the Vedic hymns , Paris, Imprimerie impériale, 1860.
- North Africa in Greek and Roman antiquity, historical and geographical study , Paris, Imprimerie impériale, 1863.
- History of geography and geographical discoveries from the earliest times to the present day , Paris, Hachette, 1873.
- With Franz Schrader : Universal Atlas of Geography built from the original sources and the most recent documents , Paris, Hachette, 1876-1915.
- With Louis Rousselet : New dictionary of universal geography (9 volumes), Paris, Hachette, 1879-1900.
1745 Nicolas Tindal Antique Map Battle of Almenar Balaguer, Catalonia, Spain
- Title : Plan of the Country and Camps of Almanar, the one under Charles II and the other of the Enemy under the D of Anjou who was defeated by 16 Squadrons commanded by Lieut. Gen. Stanhope, July 27 1710
- Size: 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
- Ref #: 22174
- Date : 1745
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This original copper-plate engraved antique map, plan of the The Battle of Almenar, near Balaguer, Catalonia, Spain in 1710 - during the Spanish War of Succession (1701-13) - was engraved by John Basire and was published in the 1745 edition of Nicholas Tindals Continuation of Mr. Rapin\'s History of England.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
Plate size: - 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Repair to top margin, no loss
Plate area: - Repair to top of image, no loss
Verso: - None
Background:
The Battle of Almenar took place on 27 July 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession, between the troops of Phillip V and the Archduke Charles. Philip V\'s army having been defeated was forced to evacuate Catalonia and regroup behind the Ebro.
In spring of 1710, the Borbonic army had entered Catalonia from Aragón crossing the Segre river on March 15. On May 3, Philip V, the Borbon claimant to the throne, joined the army.
The opposing allied army, consisting of Austrian, British, and Dutch troops, was joined by Archduke Charles of Austria, the Habsburg claimant, in June.
In July, General Guido Starhemberg received reinforcements and decided to attack. He crossed the Noguera river taking up positions on the heights of Almenar.
Stanhope then crossed the Segre at Balaguer (north of Lerida) marching to the bridge of Alfarras, crossing it on 27 July.
Villadarias opened the battle with a cavalry attack which was initially successful, but the initiative was wasted by pursuing groups of fleeing enemies.
Then the British infantry attacked the left wing which fled, taking the second line with it. Then the Austrians attacked and destroyed the right wing, where Philip V risked his life fighting and was almost captured by the allies.
The Borbonic troops had to leave Catalonia and withdraw to Aragón, where the Battle of Saragossa took place on August 20.
Villadarias was relieved of his command and replaced by the Marquis de Bay.
1854 Handtke & Flemming Huge 4 Sheet Antique Map of Spain, Portugal, Balearic Is
- Title : 1854 Handtke & Flemming Huge 4 Sheet Antique Map of Spain, Portugal, Balearic Is
- Date : 1854
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
- Ref: 32087
- Size: 32in x 26 1/2in (815mm x 675mm) joined
Description:
This hand coloured original steel-plate engraved antique very large 4 x sheet map of Spain & Portugal by Friedrich Handtke in 1854, was published in the Complete hand atlas of the recent description of the earth over all parts of the earth, Carl Flemming, Glougau.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 32in x 26 1/2in (815mm x 675mm) joined
Plate size: - 32in x 26 1/2in (815mm x 675mm) joined
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Light age toning in margins
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
Background:
Many of the original charts and maps drawn by the first Portuguese and Spanish navigators have survived for the very good reason that, on completion of their voyages, pilots were obliged to hand over their manuscript notes to the Casa da India (founded 1504) in Lisbon or to the equivalent Casa de Contrataci6n de las Indias (founded 1504) in Seville. The clear intention was to maintain secrecy over new discoveries and control over the distribution of cartographic material, not always successfully, as it happened; pilots and navigators seem to have changed allegiance with impunity and, in consequence, many of the earliest and most informative charts were compiled as far away as Genoa, Venice, Florence and Ancona, presumably from sources outside the Portuguese and Spanish Casas.It is apparent that few manuscripts reached the printing stage and, indeed, are so rare that any study of them must be regarded as a specialist subject. (Ref Tooley M&B)
1770 Thomas Kitchin Original Antique Map of Spain, Portugal & Balearic Islands
- Title : Spain and Portugal from the Best Authorities
- Size: 10 1/2in x 8 1/2in (265mm x 215mm)
- Ref #: 70189
- Date : 1770
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This fine original copper-plate engraved antique map by Thomas Kitchen was published in the 1770 edition of the atlas for William Guthrie\'s Geographical Grammar
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 10 1/2in x 8 1/2in (265mm x 215mm)
Plate size: - 10 1/2in x 8 1/2in (265mm x 215mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None
1797 John Cary Original Antique Map of Spain, Portugal & The Balearic Islands
- Title : A Map of Spain & Portugal Drawn from the Best Authorities
- Size: 12in x 10in (305mm x 255mm)
- Ref #: 92755
- Date : 1797
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This fine original copper-plate engraved antique map by John Cary was published in the 1797 edition of Moores Geography
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 12in x 10in (305mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 12in x 10in (305mm x 255mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None
1790 Aaron Arrowsmith Original Antique Map of Spain, Portugal & Balearic Islands
- Title : A Map of Spain & Portugal Drawn from the Best Authorities
- Size: 11 1/2in x 9 1/2in (290mm x 245mm)
- Ref #: 30218
- Date : 1790
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This fine original copper-plate engraved antique map by Aaron Arrowsmith was published in the 1790 edition of Cruttwells Atlas, to his GazetterJohn Arrowsmithaaron Arrowsmith
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 11 1/2in x 9 1/2in (290mm x 245mm)
Plate size: - 11 1/2in x 9 1/2in (290mm x 245mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None
1750 C. Cellarius & RW Seale Original Antique Map of Spain & Balearic Islands
- Title : Hispania Antiqua
- Size: 15in x 10in (380mm x 255mm)
- Ref #: 31354
- Date : 1750
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This finely engraved original copper-plate engraved antique map of Spain by Christopher Cellarius was engraved by RW Seale and published in the 1750 edition of Geographica Antiqua.
Richard William Seale was a prolific engraver of the mid 18th century responsible between 1744-47 for Maps of Continents and Maps for Mr Tindals Continuation of Rapins History of England in 1745. (Ref: M&B; Tooley)
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 15in x 10in (380mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 12in x 8 1/2in (305mm x 215mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
Background:
Geographica was one of the most popular geographical publications of the 17th and 18th centuries, that lasted into the 19th century, a fine map (Ref: Tooley; M&B)
1745 Tindal Antique Map of Spanish & Austrian Armies in Catalonia Spain in 1711
- Title : Plan of the Incampment of the Allies at Prats Del Rey. under the command of Count Staremberg and of ye Enemy under the Duke of Vendsome: wher ye two Armies lay from ye 17th of September to ye 25th of December 1711 N.S. when ye Enemy decamped and ye Allies the 27th.
- Size: 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
- Ref #: 15657
- Date : 1745
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This original copper-plate engraved antique map, a battle plan of the encampments of the Spanish army under Louis-Joseph, duke de Vendome & the Austrian Army under Count Guido Starhemberg in Prado Del Rey in Catalonia, Spain - during the Spanish War of Succession (1701-13) - was engraved by John Basire and was published in the 1745 edition of Nicholas Tindals Continuation of Mr. Rapins History of England.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
Plate size: - 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None
Background:
Duke Louis-Joseph de Vendome , 1654 — 1712 was one of King Louis XIV’s leading generals during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14).
Vendome was the son of Louis de Vendome, Duke de Mercoeur, by his marriage to Cardinal Jules Mazarin’s niece, Laure Mancini. Vendôme entered the French Army in 1672 and had risen to the rank of lieutenant general by the outbreak of the War of the Grand Alliance (1689–97) between France and the other major powers. He distinguished himself in the victory over the Allies at Steenkirke (1692) and was made commander in Catalonia in 1695; two years later he captured Barcelona.
The dispute over the succession to the Spanish throne brought France and Spain to war with the British, the Austrians, and the Dutch in 1701. Appointed to the command in northern Italy in 1702, Vendôme fought the Austrian commander, Prince Eugene of Savoy, in the bloody but indecisive Battle of Luzzara on August 15. He took Vercelli in 1704 and defeated Prince Eugene at Cassano in August 1705. In May 1706 Vendôme was transferred to the Flanders front, where the British commander John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, had just won an overwhelming victory at Ramillies. Vendôme made limited gains until he was severely defeated by Marlborough and Prince Eugene at Oudenaarde on July 11, 1708. Vendôme subsequently failed to relieve besieged Lille (in northern France), which fell to the Allies in October. Recalled by Louis XIV, he was temporarily disgraced.
Guido Wald Rüdiger, count of Starhemberg1657 – 1737 was an Austrian military officer.
He was a cousin of Ernst Rudiger von Starhemberg (1638-1701), the famous commander of Vienna during the Turkish siege of 1683, and acted as his aide-de-camp during that siege. Guido followed his cousin, and later Prince Eugene of Savoy, in battles against the Turks.
In the War of the Spanish Succession, Starhemberg fought in Italy and Spain. Between 1706 and 1708 he was the commander-in-chief of the imperial army in Hungary, leading military operations against the insurgents of Francis II Rákóczi. In 1708, he was appointed Supreme Commander of the Austrians in Spain.
Together with James Stanhope he succeeded in conquering Madrid in 1710, after previously gaining victories at Almenar and Saragossa. In December, however, he was forced to leave the city by the lack of support by its inhabitants for the Habsburg pretender. After the subsequent defeats at the Battle of Brihuega and the Battle of Villaviciosa (1710), he had to pull back to Catalonia, where he was made viceroy when Archduke Charles returned to Austria.
After the Peace of Utrecht (1713), archduke Charles, now Emperor Charles VI, ordered him to abandon Catalonia. He pulled back with his troops to Genoa on English ships.
When he died in 1737, he was Governor of Slavonia
1745 Tindal Antique Map of Spanish & Austrian Armies in Catalonia Spain in 1711
- Title : Plan of the Incampment of the Allies at Prats Del Rey. under the command of Count Staremberg and of ye Enemy under the Duke of Vendsome: wher ye two Armies lay from ye 17th of September to ye 25th of December 1711 N.S. when ye Enemy decamped and ye Allies the 27th.
- Size: 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
- Ref #: 15687
- Date : 1745
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This original copper-plate engraved antique map, a battle plan of the encampments of the Spanish army under Louis-Joseph, duke de Vendome & the Austrian Army under Count Guido Starhemberg in Prado Del Rey in Catalonia, Spain - during the Spanish War of Succession (1701-13) - was engraved by John Basire and was published in the 1745 edition of Nicholas Tindals Continuation of Mr. Rapins History of England.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
Plate size: - 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None
Background:
Duke Louis-Joseph de Vendome , 1654 — 1712 was one of King Louis XIV’s leading generals during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14).
Vendome was the son of Louis de Vendome, Duke de Mercoeur, by his marriage to Cardinal Jules Mazarin’s niece, Laure Mancini. Vendôme entered the French Army in 1672 and had risen to the rank of lieutenant general by the outbreak of the War of the Grand Alliance (1689–97) between France and the other major powers. He distinguished himself in the victory over the Allies at Steenkirke (1692) and was made commander in Catalonia in 1695; two years later he captured Barcelona.
The dispute over the succession to the Spanish throne brought France and Spain to war with the British, the Austrians, and the Dutch in 1701. Appointed to the command in northern Italy in 1702, Vendôme fought the Austrian commander, Prince Eugene of Savoy, in the bloody but indecisive Battle of Luzzara on August 15. He took Vercelli in 1704 and defeated Prince Eugene at Cassano in August 1705. In May 1706 Vendôme was transferred to the Flanders front, where the British commander John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, had just won an overwhelming victory at Ramillies. Vendôme made limited gains until he was severely defeated by Marlborough and Prince Eugene at Oudenaarde on July 11, 1708. Vendôme subsequently failed to relieve besieged Lille (in northern France), which fell to the Allies in October. Recalled by Louis XIV, he was temporarily disgraced.
Guido Wald Rüdiger, count of Starhemberg1657 – 1737 was an Austrian military officer.
He was a cousin of Ernst Rudiger von Starhemberg (1638-1701), the famous commander of Vienna during the Turkish siege of 1683, and acted as his aide-de-camp during that siege. Guido followed his cousin, and later Prince Eugene of Savoy, in battles against the Turks.
In the War of the Spanish Succession, Starhemberg fought in Italy and Spain. Between 1706 and 1708 he was the commander-in-chief of the imperial army in Hungary, leading military operations against the insurgents of Francis II Rákóczi. In 1708, he was appointed Supreme Commander of the Austrians in Spain.
Together with James Stanhope he succeeded in conquering Madrid in 1710, after previously gaining victories at Almenar and Saragossa. In December, however, he was forced to leave the city by the lack of support by its inhabitants for the Habsburg pretender. After the subsequent defeats at the Battle of Brihuega and the Battle of Villaviciosa (1710), he had to pull back to Catalonia, where he was made viceroy when Archduke Charles returned to Austria.
After the Peace of Utrecht (1713), archduke Charles, now Emperor Charles VI, ordered him to abandon Catalonia. He pulled back with his troops to Genoa on English ships.
When he died in 1737, he was Governor of Slavonia