Subject: World
Period: 1759 (dated)
Publication:
Color: Hand Color
Size:
25 x 19 inches
63.5 x 48.3 cm
This is an uncommon and striking map of the world in two hemispheres. The map shows a large Mer de l'Ouest and two potential Northwest Passages in the Pacific Northwest. Partial coastlines for Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea are depicted. Allegorical figures accompanied by descriptive text and set in exotic landscapes representing the continents fill the corners of the map. Columns adorned with the sun, moon and planetary systems flank the sides. An armillary sphere sits in the lower cusp of the map, and a grandly decorative title cartouche rests on the upper cusp. This is an early edition of this map.
References:
Condition: B
Lovely impression and color. The sheet has some repairs on the verso on the center of the map and at the top right, entering the map about 2". There are faint, permanent pencil notations on Antarctica.