Emanuel Bowen

Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas: Original 18th Century Hand-colored Map by Bowen

1748

This large hand-colored map entitled "Le Royaume de Naples Divisé en Douze Provinces. sur les Memoires les plus Nouveaux. Par le Sr. Sanson Presenté" was originally created by Nicholas Sanson d'Abbeville and published by Hubert Jaillot in "Atlas Nouveau" in Paris in 1692. It depicts central and southern Italy, as well as Corfu, Albania, Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea. Naples, Sorrento, the Isle of Capri, Rome in the upper left corner of the map, as well as many other landmarks. This striking original hand-colored map of Italy is printed on antique hand-made laid, chain-linked paper with wide margins. The sheet measures 20" high and 24.88" wide. There is one spot on the left, it is otherwise in very good to excellent condition. Nicholas Sanson d'Abbeville (1600-1667) was one of the greatest French cartographather of French cartography. Sanson opened his first printing business in Paris in 1638. The king recognized his skill and knowledge and made him the official geographer to the court. He eventually served two kings in this capacity. Sanson was succeeded by his sons and son...

This is an original 18th century hand-colored map entitled "A New & Correct Chart of All The Known World Laid down according to Mercator's Projection" by Emanuel Bowen. It was published in 1744 in London in John Harris's "Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca" or "A Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels". This highly detailed and colorful map depicts the world. as it was known in the mid 18th century. A majority of the northern and central portions of Canada and America are left blank due to the purity of knowledge at the time this map was published. The map is embellished with four Compass Roses in the lower left, lower center, lower right and center, along with many rhumb lines. There a is a decorative title cartouche in the upper left. This colorful, attractive, historical and interesting 1744 map presents the entire world on Mercator's projection as it was understood in the middle part of the 18th century, before the landmark explorations of Captain’s Cook, Vancouver, Wilkes and others. It is an example of a nautical chart, a type of map that was designed specifically for use by mariners. The map is centered on the equator and includes both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The continents of North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia are depicted, as well as various islands in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. The map is laid out according to the Mercator projection, a type of cylindrical map projection that was developed in the 16th century by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator. This projection has the advantage of preserving angles and shapes, making it useful for navigation. The map presents a paucity of inland detail, particularly for the Americas, but major cities, geographical landmarks, and regions are included. Ocean currents and Tradewinds are identified, as well as the magnetic declination lines or magnetic variance, which refers to the difference between true north and compass north. The continents are color coded, enhancing the beauty of this map. The three compass roses indicate the directions of the cardinal points. The depiction of the western coast of America, the Pacific and Australia are interesting. There was very little exploration of Australia between the navigations of William Damper in 1699 and Tobias Furneaux in 1773. Most of the maps detail relies on the 17th century Dutch expeditions to Australia's western coast, by Abel Tasman and William Janszoon. Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) and New Guinea appear connected to the Australian continent. New Zealand appears as a single landmass. North of New Zealand there is a landmass labelled 'Ter d' St. Esprit' which probably represents the New Hebrides Islands. This map precedes the accurate exploration of the South Pacific and east coast of Australia by Captain James Cook later in the 18th century. The map includes ‘Drakes' Port,' the site where Sir Francis Drake supposedly landed in 1579 during his 1579 circumnavigation of the globe. Here he claimed territory for England, restocked, and repaired his vessels. Drake named the region New Albion. The exact location of Drake's Port is a cartographic mystery. Drake's Harbor is believed to be in the region of San Francisco Bay, Bodega Bay, San Pablo Bay...

Antique map Middle East titled 'De Beschryving van de Reysen Pauli en van de Andere Apostelen'. Antique map of the Eastern Mediterranean with det...

Title: 18th-Century Map of the Eastern Roman Empire by Henri Chatelain, c. 1719 Description: This intricately detailed map, titled *Nouvelle Carte pour Servir à l'Histoire de l'Empi...