Subject: South America - Southern
Period: 1650 (circa)
Publication:
Color: Hand Color
Size:
20.8 x 16 inches
52.8 x 40.6 cm
This is one of the most elaborately decorated maps to focus on the tip of South America with the Strait of Magellan and Le Maire Strait. The coastlines are depicted as very mountainous, while the interior is completely without detail. Instead the region is filled with a hunting scene, exotic birds including rheas and penguins, and a quaint scene of village life. The map is further adorned with a pair of compass roses, three sailing ships, and four beautiful cartouches. The cartouches at top contain the map key and a dedication to Gualthero de Raet with his coat of arms. The cartouches arrayed across the bottom of the map present a unique distance scale in checkerboard format and the title with a tribe of Fuegian natives, penguins and shells. Spanish text on verso.
References:
Condition: B+
Sharp impression and lovely color. There is some faint uneven printer's ink residue in the image, but it is not distracting. A short tear into the map and a couple small internal tears have been expertly repaired in the upper left corner.