This lot of decorative miniature maps comes from Mallet's renowned Description de l'Univers and consists of both views and maps. Focused on the Greater Antilles, the lot includes:

A. Is. De Cuba et de Iamaica. Two sea battles raging in the Caribbean embellish this map of the islands of Cuba and Jamaica with Florida and the Bahamas appearing on the horizon.

B. Havana. Crisp engraving depicting Havana guarded by fortifications along the bay. Warring ships are depicted in the foreground.

C. I. de Guanahani ou de St. Salvador. This charming view shows the island of Guanahani, possibly where Christopher Columbus first stepped on American soil in October 1492. A settlement can be seen on the island, complete with various structures, people, palm trees, and a couple flags. In the Atlantic several ships and smaller vessels surround the island.

D. St. Salvador. This handsome view shows Salvador, Brazil, from the vantage of Baya de Todos los Sanctos. It depicts the city along the cliffs overlooking a harbor filled with ships in battle. San Salvador was Brazil's main sea port and a major center of the sugar industry and the slave trade.

References: King (2nd ed.) pp 152-53; Pastoureau, MANESSON-MALLET I A.

Condition: A

Crisp, dark impressions with soiling confined to the blank margins and small chips to the top right corner of the sheets which have been replaced with old paper on the Havana and Cuba maps.