• 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)