This is a limited edition restrike (100 copies pulled) of one of the first copper-engraved maps published in Mexico. The map is centered on Mexico City and presents a bird's-eye view of central Mexico extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. The region is known as the ecclesiastical province of San Diego, and extends from Aguascalientes and Guanajuato in the north to Acapulco and Oaxaca in the south. The title cartouche mentions 14 convents in the region, which are depicted on the map. The map is handsomely embellished with a rising sun, several sailing ships, a compass rose, and even birds flying above in the sky.

The map was engraved by the highly skilled Antonio Ysarti for publication in Baltasar de Medina's Chronica de la Santa Provincia de San Diego de Mexico. Little is known about Ysarti, who also engraved a remarkable frontispiece for Medina's book, depicting numerous Franciscan martyrs within a Franciscan temple. Friar Baltasar de Medina was born in Mexico and became a Discalced Franciscan, a separate order of Franciscans that remain barefoot. Medina was named the official chronicler for the Discalceds, and in 1682 he published a history of the order's accomplishments in his masterwork Chronica, which focused on both Franciscan martyrs and colonial life in New Spain. Ysarti's map was the only one to be included in the Chronica.

The original copper plate surfaced in the 1970s and is now held in the Library of Congress. The plate had been altered after the 1682 publication with 14 convents noted in the title cartouche (only 12 were noted in the first state), Valladolid added at center left, and the date removed from the bottom border. No contemporary impressions pulled from the altered plate are known, with the exception of this limited edition restrike made in New York in 1990.

References: cf. Sabin #47336.

Condition: B+

A crisp impression with very light toning and small remnants of hinge tape on verso.