Nicholas Sanson d'Abbeville

The Normandy Region of France: A 17th C. Hand-colored Map by Sanson and Jaillot

1695

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...

This is an original hand-colored 17th century map of Belgium by Nicolaus (Nicolas) Visscher II entitled "Belgium Foederatum emendate auctum et novissime editum", published in Amsterdam in 1678. The map shows the seven provinces comprising the Belgium federation or the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands or the Dutch Republic as it was also known. The republic was formed when an alliance of seven Dutch provinces in the Spanish Netherlands revolted against rule by Spain in 1579 (the Union of Utrecht) and declared their independence in 1581 (the Act of Abjuration). The seven provinces were Groningen, Frisia, Overijssel, Guelders, Utrecht, Holland and Zeeland. This was a predecessor state to the Netherlands and the first fully independent Dutch nation state. Amsterdam, Delft, Rouen, Utrecht, Brugge, Ghent, and Antwerp are all included on the map. A small inset map in the lower right depicts the course of the Maas River from Maastricht to Wessem. There is a decorative cartouche in the upper left corner and a distance scale cartouche in the lower right corner. The map is presented in an attractive antiqued medium brown-colored wood frame with gold-colored inner and outer trim and a light tan-colored fabric mat. The frame measures 26.63" high by 30" wide by 0.75" deep. There is some darkening of the red areas in the map, presumably related to oxidation of the original iron containing pigment over time. There are also a few scattered spots. The map is otherwise in very good condition. The Visscher family were one of the great cartographic families of the 17th century. Begun by Claes Jansz Visscher...

Les Bergers Romains Copper-line engraving by Jean Jacques Leveau (1729-1786) after Pierre Mettay (1728-1759). C1755. Proof, before lettering. Laid, watermarked paper. A landscap...

“Hidden Cities I : The Ministry. Second State.” Contemporary artist Peter Milton created this etching and engraving in 2006. The printed image size is Image size 23.50 x 36.88 inches and the paper size is 31 x 42 inches. This impression is signed, dated, and titled in pencil and inscribed “11/75” – the 11th impression from the total printing of 75. “I do love to draw. I feel that I am being granted membership in the Brotherhood of Merlin, conjuring forth some apparition. As a drawing develops, I sense a vague presence coming more and more into focus, something in a white fog emerging and becoming increasingly palpable.” – P. Milton, “The primacy of touch. The Drawings of Peter Milton” “Working in layers, Milton begins with drawings based on people and places, with nods to Western art history and culture. He is a master of the appropriated image, a term that may conjure Andy Warhol and his Pop Art comrades. But Milton steps further back in history, avoiding the Pop sense of cool advertising and popular culture references. Instead, a broader cultural past is tapped through historical photographs of key players, architecture, and locales, which he reinvents by hand. He adds content drawn from his life as an avid reader – always with multiple possible interpretations – thus incorporating deeper meaning in his cinematic worlds. Elements of Greek mythology, classical music, art history, and history coalesce in his images, which embrace the messiness, sorrow, and elation that is life. One is hard-pressed to imagine a more erudite, skilled, passionate, and cheeky soul. In addition to a storied career in printmaking, since 2007 Milton has fearlessly produced artwork digitally. He now creates images using Adobe Photoshop in files consisting of more than two thousand layers, which are printed both as digital prints on paper and, for display on Led light boxes...