Auction 6: Lots 98-110

First Published Separate Map to Exclusively Depict the Western Hemisphere

Cannibals' hut - detail

98. [MAP: AMERICAS]. MÜNSTER, Sebastian. Die neüwen Inseln so hinder Hispanien gegen Orient bey dem land Indie ligen....Nouus orbis....Die Nüw Welt. [Basle, 1558]. Woodcut map with place names in metal type. 25.8 x 34.4 cm. (10-3/16 x 13-9/16 inches). Black and white. Scale not stated. Magellan's last surviving ship is shown in the Pacific Ocean; Portuguese flag in the South Atlantic; Spanish flag in the Caribbean; cannibals' hut with dismembered leg on east coast of South America. Fine.

State 9 of the map, with oua Insula Atlantica in South America, and Sciana removed from the Spanish flag; the map is from the 1558 German text edition of Münster's Cosmographia universalis (first state of map, 1540). Burden 12: "In 1540 Sebastian Münster, who was to become one of the most influential cartographers in the sixteenth century, published his edition of Ptolemy's Geography with a further section of modern, more up to date maps. He included for the first time a set of continental maps; the [one of America] was the earliest of any note.... He was the first to create space in the woodblock for the insertion of place-names in metal type. The map's inclusion in Münster's Cosmography, first published in 1544, sealed the fate of 'America' as the name for the New World.... Mare pacificum appeared for the first time on a printed map.... The Yucatan is still shown as an island and the lake at Temistitan is depicted emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.... Provided a huge impetus to the exploration of the region." Harrisse (1892), pp. 607-09. Kohl 58n. Lowery 46n. Martin & Martin 2: "[Münster] presented a remarkably advanced outline of the American continents, especially considering that less than 50 years had elapsed since the first voyage of Columbus.... Münster's map of the New World was probably the single most widely distributed map of America of the age.... His rendering of a single land mass, the confirmation of the name America, and the dissemination of the misinformation of Verrazzano combine to make it an important step in the cartographic history of the region." Schwartz & Ehrenberg, p. 50. Wagner, Northwest Coast XXXIn. Wheat, Transmississippi West I:20n. A basic map for an Americana collection, Münster's influential map became the standard view of the New World until Ortelius' 1570 map.
($2,400-3,200) $2,760.00

One of the earliest maps to show any detail in Texas and the Southwest

99. [MAP: NEW SPAIN]. RUSCELLI, Girolamo. Nveva Hispania tabvla nova. [Venice, 1561]. Copperplate engraved map. 18.6 x 24.6 cm. (7-5/16 x 9-11/16 inches). Black and white. Scale not indicated. Seas stipple engraved. Usual slight darkening at centerfold, else fine.

First state (plate mark running off top of page; text on verso commencing: Nueva Hispania, trentesimaprima tavola nuova). Burden 31. Martin & Martin 3: "Gastaldi added a complete series of plates of the New World to [the 1548 edition of] Ptolemy, including the first map specifically devoted to New Spain.... [In the 1561 version, Ruscelli made] important innovations.... The map of New Spain was significantly improved, correctly showing Yucatan as a peninsula. The place names along the upper Gulf Coast revealed the explorations of Piñeda, Cabeza de Vaca, and Moscosso, and the Mississippi, here shown as the 'Rio de Spiritu Santo,' was carefully depicted. The map enjoyed wide influence, appearing in successive editions of Ptolemy in 1561, 1564, 1573, 1574 (see item 101 herein), 1596, 1597, and 1599." Nordenskiöld 216:60. Phillips, Atlases 371. Wagner, Northwest Coast 48. First printing of one of the earliest maps to show any detail in Texas and the Southwest. The extremely graceful and restrained style of mapmaking by Gastaldi and Ruscelli marks a transition from the earlier, heavier style of woodcut maps, reflecting both the Italian sensibility and the use of copperplate engraving as a medium for cartography.
($600-800) $690.00

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Perhaps the Most Famous and Beautiful Early Map of America

Item 100 - detail

100. [MAP: AMERICAS]. [ORTELIUS, Abraham]. Americae sive Novi Orbis, nova descriptio. [Antwerp, 1570]. Copperplate engraved map. 36.6 x 50.5 cm. (14-7/16 x 19-15/16 inches). Later(?) full coloring. Scale not indicated. Ornate, elaborately wrought strapwork cartouche graced with sphinxes, masks, swags of fruits, scroll work, entablatures, volutes, palms, ribbons, etc.; corner ornaments with intricate Renaissance patterns; ships and spouting whale in stipple engraved sea. Small paper flaw on cartouche neatly strengthened (barely discernable). Fine, a good, strong impression.

State 2 (Azores correctly labeled); the plate first appeared in 1570 with the Azores incorrectly labeled. As in the first appearance, the strapwork is 7 mm. thick and composed of interwoven circle and diamond design; the largest ship in the Pacific is sailing west; and the Equator has no gradations between the longitudinal marks. The present map appeared in the 1571 edition of Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (second line of text on verso commences dinem, which is flush with the margin). "One of the most famous and easily recognizable maps of America, and one that is both functional as well as decorative. [It] had a great influence on the future cartography of the New World.... The Theatrum Orbis Terrarum....was the first atlas produced that uniformly covered the world with similar sized and styled maps.... All of the copperplates were cut by Frans Hogenberg. Published on 20 May 1570, it was an instant success running to four issues in the first year alone.... Prior to 1570 Ortelius traveled extensively, and built up numerous contacts. It was these sources that he used to provide accurate information for his maps" (Burden 39). This map, the first of America to appear in a modern atlas, was based on actual reports from explorers, such as Cabeza de Vaca, De Soto, Niza, Coronado, et al. Koeman (Ortelius) 2. Martin & Martin 4: "Typical of the magnificent engraving and printing of the Dutch...Americae sive Novi orbis nova...rested largely upon Mercator's great world map of 1569." Nordenskiöld 164:2. Schwartz & Ehrenberg, pp. 70-71 & plate 32. Tooley, Landmarks of Mapmaking, p. 204 (illustrating first state of 1570 edition); Mapping of America, p. 320. Wagner, Northwest Coast 80 (see also p. 71). Wheat, Transmississippi West 15 & p. 25.
($3,000-5,000) $4,370.00

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101. [MAP: NEW SPAIN]. RUSCELLI, Girolamo. Nveva Hispania tabvla nova. [Venice, 1574]. Copperplate engraved map. 18.5 x 24.6 cm. (7-5/16 x 9-11/16 inches). Full contemporary coloring. Scale not indicated. Seas stipple engraved. Minor void at top centerfold (neatly filled), otherwise very fine, and an excellent impression. This map is rarely found with contemporary coloring.

State 2 (plate mark across top; text on verso commencing: Nveva Hispania, seconda tavola del mondo nvovo; graduation marks cross-hatched). For state 1 (1561) see item 99 herein. Burden 31. Martin & Martin 3. Nordenskiöld 220:60. Phillips, Atlases 380. Wagner, Northwest Coast 48n.
($1,000-2,000) $1,265.00

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"The First Printed Real Map of New Spain"&emdash;Wagner

Mexico City and environs - detail

102. [MAP: NEW SPAIN]. [ORTELIUS, Abraham]. Hispaniae Novae sivæ magnae, recens et vera descriptio. 1579. [Antwerp: Plantin], 1579/[1580]. Copperplate engraved map. 34.8 x 50.5 cm. (13-3/4 x 19-15/16 inches). Original full coloring. Scale not indicated. Three ornate, elaborately wrought strapwork cartouches with faces, grotesque heads, birds, cherubs, scroll work, entablatures, etc; two ships on stipple engraved seas. A very good copy with handsome coloring. A few splits and neat old repairs (three small voids, two of which are neatly filled).

This map is from the 1580 German edition of Ortelius' Atlas, and is identical to the first issue (Antwerp, 1579). Koeman (Ortelius) 16A. Wagner, Northwest Coast 119: "The first printed real map of New Spain." An attractive map, dominated by two elaborate mannerist cartouches of the late Renaissance period. The cartographer presents a large-scale detailed depiction of the Pacific Coast of Mexico between approximate latitudes 17ºN and 23ºN, showing Spanish strongholds and Indian towns; Mexico City and Guadalajara are among the hundreds of towns and villages located. The map, which influenced the cartography of Mexico for the next century, is remarkable for the large number of cities and towns located only sixty years after the conquest. Cline, The Ortelius Maps, suggests Duran or Chaves may have drawn this prototype delineation for Ortelius.
($750-1,500)

Item 102 - detail

Item 103 - detail

103. [MAP: AMERICAS]. MERCATOR, Michael. America sive India Nova.... [Duisburg, 1595/1613-1630]. Copperplate engraved map. 36.7 x 45.7 cm. (14-1/2 x 17-15/16 inches). Original full coloring. Scale not indicated. Ornate mannerist decoration with intertwining foliage and cornucopias; four roundel insets (title and maps of Cuba, Haiti, and the Gulf of Mexico); stipple engraved seas. Some creasing and old repairs along blank margins and centerfold. A good impression with excellent original coloring.

The present map is from the Hondius edition of 1613, 1623, or 1630 (identified by the signatures "39" and "M" on the reverse); it is identical to the first appearance of the map (1595). Burden 87: "After the death of Gerard Mercator in 1594 it was left to his son Rumold to publish the last of three parts that formed his famous atlas, the Atlantis Pars Altera [1595]. The atlas was finished with a number of maps engraved by various descendents of Gerard. The task of the American map was given to his grandson Michael. The only printed map known to be by him, it is beautifully engraved.... The general outline is taken from Rumold Mercator's world map of 1587, with a little more detail added." Koeman (Mercator) 22, 27A, and 29A. Lowery 81n. Nordenskiöld 145:6. Phillips, Atlases 441. Rosenwald Collection 730. Wagner, Northwest Coast 179. Wheat, Transmississippi West 26. The World Encompassed 134.

This beautifully engraved, well-executed map of the Americas records the Dutch sphere of influence in the New World and perpetuates the myth of the Northwest Passage. The "Mare Dulcium Aquarum" probably reflects the first hint of the Great Lakes (see Karpinski "Fundamental Maps of the Great Lakes" #1, in Maps of Famous Cartographers Depicting North America, p. 81). This famous delineation of the New World includes all of the place names employed during the discovery period. The beautiful insets (including an exquisite little map of the Gulf of Mexico) show in detail the true heart of earliest America, from Florida to Yucatan and the West Indies.
($3,000-5,000) $4,830.00

104. [MAP: AMERICAS]. [MAGINI, Giovanni Antonio]. America. [Venice, 1596]. Copperplate engraved map. 13.5 x 17.4 cm. (5-5/16 x 6-7/8 inches). Black and white. Scale not stated. Stipple engraved seas. Very fine.

The present map appeared without change in five editions of Ptolemy's Geographiae vniversae between 1596 and 1621. Burden 93: "This new edition of Ptolemy's Geography was edited by Giovanni Antonio Magini, a noted geographer from Padua. The neatly engraved copperplates for this work are attributed to Girolamo Porro." Nordenskiöld 278. Phillips, Atlases 403, 405, & 436. Wagner, Northwest Coast 186. Geographically, the map derives from D'Anania's map of 1582 and Ortelius' map of 1579, retaining the bulge on the southwest coast of South America. The map depicts North and South America with the mythical great southern continent below. This quaint little map had a long life, appearing as late as 1713 in Raphael Savonarola's Universus Terrarum Orbis Scriptorum.
($400-800) $460.00

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105. [MAP: WORLD]. [MAGINI, Giovanni]. Vniversi Orbis Descriptio ad vsvm Navigantivm. [Venice, 1596/1598-1621]. 12.8 x 17.6 cm. (5 x 6-15/16 inches). Black and white. Scale not stated. Rhumb lines; stipple engraved seas. Very fine, excellent impression.

The map first appeared in a Latin edition of Ptolemy's Geografia (1596). It was used in several works from 1597 to 1713, apparently without change. The present map is from Leonardo Cernoti's Italian translation of Ptolemy, Geografia, which came out in 1598 and 1621. Phillips, Atlases 405. Shirley 196: "Magini's mariner's map follows Gerard Mercator's large world map of 1569 on a much reduced scale and with the fanciful addition of chains of mountains across the southern continent.... The accompanying text [below the map] refers to navigational textbooks such as those by Pietro Medina, Giovanni Aurigario and Pietro Nonio." Wagner, Northwest Coast 186.
($400-800) $460.00

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Earliest Printed Map of the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas

106. [MAP: AMERICAS]. ORTELIUS, Abraham. La Florida. Auctore Hieron. Chiaues; Pervviae Avriferæ Regionis Typvs. Didaco Mendezio auctore; Gvastecan Reg. [Antwerp: Plantin, 1584/1598]. Three copperplate engraved maps on one sheet. 33.2 x 46.0 cm. (13-1/8 x 18-1/8 inches). Black & white. Scale not stated. Decorative cartouches; ships; stipple engraved seas. Very fine copy of a most important map of Florida and the Gulf Coast.

This map was first published in the Latin edition of Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Additamentum III (Antwerp, 1598). The map appeared without change in the Latin, French, German, and Spanish translations, from 1584 to 1612. The present map is from the 1598 French translation (signature 9 on verso). Burden 57: "[La Florida] is one of the very few maps printed in the sixteenth century that was based upon original Spanish sources. They were very protective of their knowledge of the Americas, a considerable source of their wealth. The author of this map, Gerónimo de Chaves, was the Cosmographer Royal to Philip II of Spain." Cumming 5, Plate 9n, and p. 12: "One of the half-dozen most important mother maps of southeastern North America. This map probably had more influence than any other map in establishing the subsequent conception of Florida as including that part of the present U.S. from the peninsula of Florida northward to about 40º north latitude and westward to or beyond the Mississippi." Harrisse, p. 710. Koeman (Ortelius) 32:9. Lowery 70n. Martin & Martin, pp. 18 & 75n: "Privy to all of the official reports of the Spanish explorers, Chaves' map recorded the discoveries of Cabeza de Vaca, de Soto, and Moscoso.... One of the earliest printed maps of the territory based on actual observations." Phillips, Atlases 406. Schwartz & Ehrenberg, pp. 79-81 & plate 35: "The first regional map representation of Florida." The map of La Florida, based on DeSoto's manuscript, is the earliest printed map of the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas, and is usually considered the first map attempting to delineate any part of the interior of the present U.S. It influenced all maps of the region for a century and is "a primary source document of the first magnitude in the history of discovery and cartography" (Rucker Agee, Birmingham Pub. Lib. Cat. 1970).
($1,200-2,200) $1,380.00

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107. [MAP: AMERICAS]. ORTELIUS, Abraham. La Florida. Auctore Hieron. Chiaues; Pervviae Avriferae Regionis Typvs. Didaco Mendezio auctore; Gvastecan Reg. [Antwerp: Plantin, 1584/1602]. Copperplate engraved map. 33.3 x 46.6 cm. (13-1/8 x 18-3/8 inches). Black & white. Scale not stated. Decorative cartouches; ships; stipple engraved seas. Light staining to blank margins. A very good impression, with generous margins.

Another issue of the preceding, from the 1602 Spanish language edition (with signature 9 on text page).
($1,200-2,000)

"First Printed Map to be Devoted to the Pacific Ocean"&emdash;Burden

Magellan's ship - detail

108. [MAP: PACIFIC OCEAN]. ORTELIUS, Abraham. Maris Pacifici, (quod volgò Mar del Zur).... [Antwerp], 1589/[1609-1612]. Copperplate engraved map. 34.6 x 50.0 cm. (13-5/8 x 19-11/16 inches). Black and white. Scale not stated. Large dedicatory cartouche at lower left with ornamental strapwork, banners, strings of beads, human and lion heads; cartouche at top right with strapwork and ornamentation; Magellan's last surviving ship in Pacific Ocean and other smaller ships in stipple engraved seas. Mild darkening at lower section of centerfold; small rust spotting (mainly confined to lower blank margin at center), generally fine, and an excellent impression of one of the most beautiful of all old maps.

First state, with date 1589 in lower left cartouche. The map first appeared in 1589 in Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Additamentum IV. The present map is from the 1609 or 1612 edition (last line of text on verso commences clase ex, and last line of second paragraph is verbo quidem, meminisse). Burden 74: "One of the most important maps that appeared in the Ortelius atlases, this was the first printed map to be devoted to the Pacific Ocean, the discovery of which is remembered by the depiction, with legend, of Ferdinand Magellan's ship the Victoria. It was engraved at a time of increasing activity in the Pacific with the English having recently begun raiding the Spanish galleons carrying the gold of Peru up the coast to the Isthmus, as well as those marking the arduous journey across from the Philippines to Mexico.... Being one of Ortelius' most desirable maps combined with the fact that it was not issued in the atlas until 1590, it is not as available as the various versions of his map of America." Koeman (Ortelius) 25:19. Nebenzahl, Compass 45:14: "One of the earliest maps to differentiate by name North from South America." Tooley, Landmarks of Mapmaking, pp. 198, 200.

Wagner, Northwest Coast, pp. 73-75 & 156: "A distinct departure, being unlike any map of the northwest coast published before 1589.... The peninsula is named Cali-formia.... The Gulf of California is of an entirely different form. The origin of the new nomenclature is a mystery. The opinion has....been expressed that this map [was] derived from some now unknown exploration. Aside from the fact that the character of these new names, almost entirely descriptive, is an indication of imaginary origin, there is no record of any voyage along the coast from which the names might have been obtained. No expedition had appeared on the coast, to our knowledge, between 1542 and 1589 except that of Pedro de Unamuno." Wheat, Transmississippi West 24, pp. 25-27.
($3,600-4,800) $4,140.00

109. [MAP: NEW SPAIN]. HERRERA Y TORDESILLAS, Antonio de. Descripçion de las Yndias del Norte 2. [Amsterdam: Colinius, 1622]. Copperplate engraved map. 21.4 x 29.6 cm. (8-7/16 x 11-5/8 inches). Black and white. Scale not stated. A few tolerably small wormholes at lower blank margin, generally fine. The map very seldom appears on the market.

Herrera's map first appeared in Madrid in 1601 in his Descripción de las Indias Occidentales. The present map is a re-engraving made for the 1622 translations into Dutch, French, and Latin. There are slight changes in layout of the title and shading. The title is at top left; YNDIAS in title; 2 below title. Burden 197: "The lack of any great detail on this uncommon map reflects the official policy of protecting Spanish knowledge of the New World. Despite this the outline of the map is accurate for the period concerned." Borba de Moraes I, p. 337-38. Martin & Martin 7 (describing the 1601 edition): "Spain did permit some compilation and distribution of information concerning the New World, with the best work done by Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, a well-educated and capable scholar who had rare access to the archives in Spain.... Using great care and discretion, Herrera worked through the voluminous archives that documented the early decades of Spanish discovery and exploration. [Herrera's monumental four-volume work] recorded Spain's New World activities from the time of Columbus through 1555." Palau 224294. Herrera, official historian to Philip II, III, and IV, had access to many documents since lost, and the 1622 translations made his cornerstone work more generally available outside of Spain. Although this scarce map lacks detail, from an aesthetic viewpoint, its uncluttered presentation is rather refreshing. Unusual.
($600-1,200) $690.00

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Item 110 - detail

110. [MAP: GULF OF MEXICO AND CARIBBEAN]. BLAEU, Willem Jansz. Insvlæ Americanæ in Oceano Septentrionali, cum Terris adiacentibus. [Amsterdam, 1635/1640-1655]. Copperplate engraved map. 38.4 x 52.9 cm. (15-1/8 x 20-3/4 inches). Black and white. Scale: 1 inch = approximately 34 German miles. Cartouche at lower left with armorial shield: lady with mirror and two snakes, putti reading a book; cartouche at top: two putti with lizards, snakes, bat, and turtle; cartouche at lower right: two putti holding navigational instruments. Rhumb lines, three compass roses, ships. Mild foxing, otherwise a fine copy of this very handsome map.

This map was first published in 1635 in the simultaneously issued Latin, French, and Dutch editions of Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Additamentum III. It appears that the map was unaltered from 1635 to 1667. The present map is from either the 1640, 1645, 1650, or 1655 Latin edition. Burden 242: "Cartographically the map draws on the extremely rare chart by Hesel Gerritsz, c. 1631. The area of coverage is exactly the same with the exception of Blaeu's addition of the west coast of Central America. The nomenclature of the North American part is virtually identical, the only notable addition being the naming of VIRGINIA. It reflects firsthand knowledge of Gerritsz during his voyage to South America and the West Indies in 1628.... It seems likely that a Spanish chart was used as the nomenclature along the south-east coast lacks any of the French influences often seen at the time." Koeman I, p. 94n. Portinaro & Knirsch, The Cartography of North America, pp. 178-79.
($750-1,500) $862.50