World (56)
1816 John Thomson Large Antique Map of Southern India & Northern Sri Lanka
- Title : Southern Hindostan....Drawn & Engraved for Thomsons New General Atlas, 1816
- Date : 1816
- Size: 25in x 20 1/2in (635mm x 520mm)
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
- Ref: 41004
Description:
This large magnificent original hand coloured copper-plate engraved antique map of South India & northern Sri Lanka by John Thomson was engraved by Samuel Neele in 1816 - dated at the foot of the map - and was published in the 1817 edition of Thomsons New General Atlas
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: - 25in x 20 1/2in (635mm x 520mm)
Plate size: - 25in x 20 1/2in (635mm x 520mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (15mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Top margin soiling and cropped to plate-mark
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
Background:
The cartography of India begins with early charts for navigation and constructional plans for buildings. Indian traditions influenced Tibetan and Islamic traditions, and in turn, were influenced by the British cartographers who solidified modern concepts into India\'s map making
A prominent foreign geographer and cartographer was Hellenistic geographer Ptolemy (90–168) who researched at the library in Alexandria to produce a detailed eight-volume record of world geography. During the Middle Ages, India sees some exploration by Chinese and Muslim geographers, while European maps of India remain very sketchy. A prominent medieval cartographer was Persian geographer Abu Rayhan Biruni (973–1048) who visited India and studied the country\'s geography extensively.
European maps become more accurate with the Age of Exploration and Portuguese India from the 16th century. The first modern maps were produced by Survey of India, established in 1767 by the British East India Company. Survey of India remains in continued existence as the official mapping authority of the Republic of India.
1740 Guillaume Delisle Original Antique Atlas Title Page of Atlante Novissimo
- Title : Atlante Novissimo Del Sig. r Guglielmo De L Isle
- Size: 15in x 10in (380mm x 255mm)
- Ref #: 70345
- Date : 1750
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This fine original copper-plate engraved antique frontispiece from the Italian version of Guillaume Delisle atlas Atlante Novissimo, was published by Girolamo Albrizzi in 1740.
The architectural columns are flanked by both male & female Roman soldier. At the top of the structure, a pair of putti hold aloft the covering drapes. Within the structure are two internal cartouche, one a vignette view of the city of Venice, where the atlas was published, and above, the symbol for the Society of Jesus.
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
1704 Bodenehr Antique Twin Hemisphere World Map, California as an Island
- Title : Der Gantze Welt Kreis in seinen Zwey Grossen Begriffen
- Ref #: 92831
- Size: 7in x 6in (180mm x 150mm)
- Date : 1704
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This fine hand coloured original antique twin Hemisphere World map was published by Gabriel Bodenehr in the 1704 edition of Atlas Curieux
A bold border and decorative title cartouche enclose this miniature map of the world. The double hemisphere includes the Island of California, a blank Northwest coast of North America, and partial coastlines for Australia and New Zealand. Tucked between the spheres are two polar projections. (Ref: M&B; Tooley)
General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy & stable
Paper color: - White
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Blue, yellow, green, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 7in x 6in (180mm x 150mm)
Paper size: - 6in x 5 1/4in (150mm x 135mm)
Margins: - Min 1/4in (6mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
1845 Sydney Hall Large Antique World Map insets Singapore, Hong Kong, Cape, TAS
- Title : 1845 Sydney Hall Large Antique World Map insets Singapore, Hong Kong, Cape, TAS
- Size: 22in x 19 1/2in (500mm x 470mm)
- Condition: (A) Good Condition
- Date : 1843
- Ref #: 32258-1
Description:
This large original steel-plate antique world map - with 5 inset maps of Hong Kong, Van Diemens Land, Calcutta, Singapore & the Colony Of Good Hope - by Sydney Hall was published by Longman & co. in 1845. (Ref: Tooley; M&B)
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Light and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 22in x 19 1/2in (500mm x 470mm)
Plate size: - 22in x 19 1/2in (500mm x 470mm)
Margins: - Min 1/4in (6mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Small loss to top centerfold, into border
Plate area: - Folds as issued, light creasing
Verso: - Folds re-enforced with archival tape, light soiling
Background:
A highly detailed and attractive map of the world, with seven inset maps of British colonies: Hong Kong, Van Diemens Land, Calcutta, Singapore & the Colony Of Good Hope. A note on the Pitcairn Islands records their colonisation by the mutineers from the Bounty.
Also prominent in North America is an independent Texas along with an extended Mexico into the SW and California regions.
1682 Du Val Original Antique Map of North Pole, North America, Europe, Russia
- Title : Terres Arctiques.. Septemtrional et Boreales.
- Date : 1682
- Size: 6 1/2in x 6in (160mm x 155mm)
- Ref #: 22138
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This beautifully hand coloured original 1682 antique map of the North Pole by Pierre Du Val was published in his 1682 miniature atlas, 'Géographie Universelle'.Jacques Nicholas Bellindu
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: - 6 1/2in x 6in (160mm x 155mm)
Plate size: - 5in x 4in (125mm x 100mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
Background:
A driving force for the exploration of the Arctic was the desire of European monarchs to find an alternate trading route to China, via either a Northwest Passage along the coast of North America, or a Northeast Passage along the coast of Siberia. A number of expeditions sought such routes in the 1500-1700s, which resulted in the discovery of much of northern North America, but no viable passage.
In 1524, under the direction of the king of France, Giovanni da Verrazano took the entrance to Hudson River (now New York City) to be the entrance for the passage, and ten years later Jacques Cartier likewise discovered the St. Lawrence estuary. The first Englishman to seek the passage was Martin Frobisher in three voyages up to 60°N between 1576 and 1578. On his first voyage, relations with the natives quickly became hostile, and a prisoner was brought back to England. John Davis followed in 1585, 1586, and 1587 charting the strait west of Greenland that now bears his name.
Financed by the Dutch, in 1609 the Englishman Henry Hudson followed Verrazano's course, and explored the river that now bears his name. The following year he discovered the vast inlet (now called Hudson Bay) beyond Davis Strait. Robert Bylot and navigator William Baffin undertook two expeditions in 1615 and 1616, exploring the north coast of Greenland up to 78°N and then along the Canadian archipelago to Lancaster Sound. Convinced it was only a bay, Baffin concluded that no Northwest Passage existed, and interest in searching for one waned for the next 200 years.
Other explorers were drawn to search for a Northeast Passage connecting the White Sea and Bering Sea. The Dutch navigator William Barents led three expeditions east of Novaya Zemlya, and on the third expedition in 1596 claimed Spitsbergen. From the early 16th century, Russian navigators used shallow draft vessels with reinforced bottoms (kochi) to cross the Kara Sea and explore the Ob and Yenisey rivers. Yermak's Cossacks expanded the Russian presence eastward, crossing the Ural Mountains in 1581. In 1601, Mangazeya town was founded at Taz River between the Ob and Yenisey rivers, and dozens of boats from Pomor lands began annual navigations.
Throughout the first quarter of the 17th century, a great number of merchants, trappers and Cossacks moved east and north, settled East Siberia and explored the northern Siberian coast. In 1610, the Yenisey River was navigated to its northern estuary and the coast to the estuary of the Pyasina was explored. Cape Chelyuskin was overtaken from the west in 1617, Yakutian Cossacks Ivan Rebrov and Ilya Perfilyev headed down to the Lena River estuary and made the first sea voyage to the Yana River in 1633, and in 1639, the Pacific shore was reached by Ivan Moskvitin and his detachment of Cossacks. In a 15-year timespan, all Siberian river estuaries from Khatanga to Kolyma had been discovered and a large part of the Northeast Passage from the White Sea to Kolyma estuary had been covered. Semen Dezhnev traversed the final segment in 1648, leading 90 Cossacks on a journey from the Kolyma to Anadyr Rivers, discovering the strait between Asia and America (proving that they were different continents) and passing the cape which now bears his name.
1762 Bonne, Janvier, & Zannoni Original Antique Atlas Title Page to Atlas Modern
- Title : Atlas Moderne ou Collection De Cartes Sur toutes les parties du Globe Terrestre
- Size: 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
- Ref #: 92277
- Date : 1762
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This original copper-plate engraved antique frontispiece from the atlas Atlas Moderne of a Collection of Maps by Rigobert Bonne, Jean Janvier, & Rizzi Zannoni was published by Jean Lattre in 1762, dated.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 14in x 10in (355mm x 255mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Light soiling in margins
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
1767 Clouet Antique Twin Hemisphere World Map - Misshapen Australia
- Title : De La Terre En General
- Ref #: 16275
- Size: 23in x 16in (585mm x 410mm)
- Date : 1767
- Condition: (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This fine, large beautifully hand coloured original antique Twin Hemisphere World Map - with an unusually depicted southern coast of Australia and French text on the General views of the World at the time - by Jean Baptiste Louis Clouet (1730-87) was published byMondhare et Jean, Paris in the 1767 edition of Clouets Atlas Geographie moderne avec une introduction. (Ref: M&B; Tooley)
General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy & stable
Paper color: - White
Age of map color: - Original
Colors used: - Yellow, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 23in x 16in (585mm x 410mm)
Plate size: - 22 1/2in x 13in (575mm x 330mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
1676 John Speed Original Antique Letterpress Title Page To Speeds World Atlas
- Title : A Prospect of the most Famous Parts of the World.....by John Speed.....Printed for Thomas Bassett at the George in fleet-Street, and Richard Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St Pauls Church-Yard MDCLXXVI
- Size: 16in x 10n (400mm x 255mm)
- Condition: (A) Very Good Condition
- Date : 1676
- Ref #: 93109
Description:
This original antique letterpress title page is from the 1676 Atlas A Prospect of the most Famous Parts of the World by John Speed, printed for Thomas Bassett and Richard Chiswell, London.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Light and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 16in x 10n (400mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 16in x 10n (400mm x 255mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Several small repairs on verso with archival tape
Plate area: - Several small repairs on verso with archival tape
Verso: - Several small repairs on verso with archival tape
Background:
John Speed is perhaps the most famous single figure in the early history of the English map trade. He was a member of the Merchant Taylors Company, made free in September 1580, and later Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. By training he was probably a rolling-press printer, but by interest he was a historian, and Queen Elizabeth granted him a sinecure in the Customs House, to give him the opportunity to pursue these interests.
His earliest cartographic publications were historical; in 1595, he published a wall map of the Holy Land, Canaan as it was Possessed both in Abraham and Israels Dayes, a two-sheet map of The Invasions of England and Ireland with all their Civill Warres since the Conquest (1601) and a wall map of England, Wales and Ireland showing the same information, [1603-1604].
In 1611 he prepared two Bible maps, the larger inserted in folio editions of the great King James Bible, the smaller in octavo printings; Speed also secured a privilege, dated 31st October 1610, to ensure that the map was inserted in every copy of the Bible sold, a lucrative arrangement that the Stationers Company eventually felt impelled to buy out from his heirs.
Speed always considered his History of Great Britaine (1611) his major work, but his reputation was established by the companion atlas volume, Theatre of the Empire of great Britaine, published in 1612, the first printed atlas of the British Isles. The earliest map prepared was The County Palatine of Chester [1604], but the death of the engraver William Rogers meant that Speeds publishers had to turn to Jodocus Hondius, an Amsterdam engraver, to prepare the maps.
The atlas was completed in 1612; the maps are notable for the decorative elements included, evidence of Speeds interest in antiquities and most have inset town-plans, the first series of printed town-plans of the British Isles, and were issued with descriptive English text printed on the verso. In the hands of different publishers, there were numerous editions to 1676 with text; later printings into the 1770s were issued without text.
Towards the end of his career, Speed also prepared a world atlas: the Prospect of the most Famous Parts of the World (1627), the first world atlas compiled by an Englishman and published in England, although the maps were engraved in Amsterdam, using Dutch models. Again, this was printed with English text on the verso, and reprinted thereafter. While early editions are rarer, perhaps the most important edition was the 1676 printing, which added newly prepared English maps of New England, Virginia, the Carolinas, Barbados and Jamaica.
Speeds publishers also prepared two pocket atlases, colloquially called miniature Speeds, reproducing the Theatre and Prospect on a smaller, less expensive, format. The county atlas, England, Wales, and Ireland: ... their several Counties abridged, first appeared in 1627, although there is an earlier proof version from about 1620; the A Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World appeared in 1646; both were reprinted in several editions up to 1675. However, Speed himself probably had little creative contribution to either atlas.