Maps > Sea Charts(85 items) > Africa (4 items) 
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MORTIER, Pierre (1661-1711)

Carte des Costes de L'Afrique ou est compris une Partie de Guinée, Le Royaume de Benin, Isle de St. Thomas &c. Levée Par Ordre Expres des Roys de Portugal, sous quion en a Fiat Decouverte

Amsterdam: Pierre Mortier, [1700]. Copper-engraved map, with full original colour and gold embellishments, in very good condition. Sheet size: 24 1/2 x 37 3/4 inches.

A superb coastal chart of western Africa, with exquisite original colour and gold highlights

This large scale, beautifully coloured chart, which shows the west coast of Africa from the southern border of Morocco to the southern border of Gabon, comes from the third part of Mortier's edition of Le Neptune François, or Suite du Neptune François, a lavish collection of charts derived from manuscripts in the Royal Portuguese archives. The Portuguese had of course been the first Europeans to explore the coasts of Africa. The map includes two handsome vignettes of the historically important islands that lie somewhat outside the purview of this chart: Ascension Island and St. Helena.

Pierre Mortier's grandparents were French émigrés, who left France in about 1625 to live in Leiden. His parents settled in Amsterdam in 1661 or 1662. Mortier grew up in Amsterdam but lived in Paris from 1681 to about 1685 where he must have gotten into the book trade. Once he was in Amsterdam again he specialized in French books and maintained his relationships with Parisian publishers. Amsterdam was at this time the international marketplace for books, especially books forbidden by repressive governments.

He established himself in the field of cartographical publishing by offering editions of French maps, primarily Sanson's and Jaillot's to a public tired of the superb but dated Dutch offerings. Working on a scale larger than the typical Dutch folio map and providing the new insights of French geography, he was immensely successful. The charts in his version of Le Neptune François are outstanding examples of cartographical art. They are among the most beautiful printed sea charts ever made.

Koeman, Atlantes Neerlandici, M. Mor 7, #5

#14844$1,500.00
 
 
MORTIER, Pierre (1661-1711)

Carte Particuliere des Costes de L'Afrique Qui comprend le Royaume de Maroc &c. Levée Par Ordre Expres des Roys de Portugal sous qui on en a Fait Decouverte.

Amsterdam: Pierre Mortier, [1700]. Copper-engraved map, with full original colour and gold embellishments, in excellent condition. Sheet size: 24 1/2 x 37 3/4 inches.

A highly decorative sea chart of the coast of Morocco, with exceptional original colour and highlights in gold

This large scale, beautifully coloured chart, which shows the northwest coast of Africa from Cape Spartel to a point in the Sahara adjacent to the Canary Islands, comes from the third part of Mortier's edition of Le Neptune François, or Suite du Neptune François, a lavish collection of charts derived from manuscripts in the Royal Portuguese archives. The Portuguese had of course been the first Europeans to explore the coasts of Africa. The coast from Gibraltar to the Canaries was well known during the Middle Ages, and had been known to the Romans. This chart is the most accurate and detailed of the African charts in the work, including as it does soundings and notes: historical and advisory. The place-names have changed radically of course.

Pierre Mortier's grandparents were French émigrés, who left France in about 1625 to live in Leiden. His parents settled in Amsterdam in 1661 or 1662. Mortier grew up in Amsterdam but lived in Paris from 1681 to about 1685 where he must have gotten into the book trade. Once he was in Amsterdam again he specialized in French books and maintained his relationships with Parisian publishers. Amsterdam was at this time the international marketplace for books, especially books forbidden by repressive governments.

He established himself in the field of cartographical publishing by offering editions of French maps, primarily Sanson's and Jaillot's to a public tired of the superb but dated Dutch offerings. Working on a scale larger than the typical Dutch folio map and providing the new insights of French geography, he was immensely successful. The charts in his version of Le Neptune François are outstanding examples of cartographical art. They are among the most beautiful printed sea charts ever made.

Koeman, Atlantes Neerlandici, Mor 7, # 9

#14842$1,850.00
 
 
THORNTON, John (1641-1708) & Samuel (fl.1703-39)

A Chart of the Coast of Guinea from Cape de Verde to Cape Bona Esperança

London: William Mount & Thomas Page, [1734]. Copper-engraved sea chart, in excellent condition. Sheet size: 19 x 22 3/4 inches.

A very elegant sea chart of all of the west coast of Africa and one of the most important charts of the celebrated Third Book of 'The English Pilot'

This very fine sea chart embraces the coast of Africa from Senegal all the way down to Cape Agulhas, past the Cape of Good Hope. The features of the coast are named in great detail, and the seas are elegantly traversed by loxodromes. The map is oriented with the east towards the top of the map, and a very beautiful cartouche surrounded by mermen and seashells adorns the upper left corner.

In 1671, the London cartographer John Seller (fl.1664-97) commenced work on The English Pilot, a work that intended to challenge Dutch hegemony in the sea atlas market. Intended to be published in four books covering different regions of the globe, Seller published an uncompleted book on 'Oriental navigation' in 1675. Unable to continue this Herculean endeavour, Seller sold his rights to John Thornton, the official hydrographer to the English East India Company. Thornton took up the project with great fervour, publishing his first editions in 1689. Thornton did not publish his first edition of the Third Book, detailing navigation in the East Indies, until 1703. While Thornton largely based his charts on those of earlier Dutch cartographers, most notably those found in Pieter Goos' Zee-Spiegel and Lucas Janz Waghenaer's Mariner's Mirror, The English Pilot proved to be enormously popular. When John Thornton died in 1708, his brother Samuel took over the business and added to and modified existing charts. All four books were produced in editions until the 1760s, the Third Book ran into twelve editions up to 1761. The project succeeded in giving the English dominance in the sea chart market as the eighteenth-century progressed.

Cf. Phillips, Atlases, 4278-10; Verner & Skelton (eds.), John Thornton - The English Pilot: The Third Book (Facsimile 1703 edition)

#19526$1,500.00
 
 
THORNTON, John (1641-1708) & Samuel (fl.1703-39)

A New Draught of the Island of Madagascar als. St.Lorenzo with Augustin Bay and the Island of Mombass at Large

London: William Mount & Thomas Page, [1734]. Copper-engraved sea chart, in excellent condition. Sheet size: 19 x 22 3/4 inches.

A very elegant sea chart of Madagascar and Mozambique, from the celebrated Third Book of 'The English Pilot'

This highly attractive and finely engraved sea chart features the large island of Madagascar, and the adjacent coast of the African continent. Madagascar was named São Lorenço by the Portuguese in the early sixteenth-century. By the time that this chart was made, the island was a favoured base for pirates, including Captain Kidd, who took advantage of Madagascar's location near the treasure-laden shipping routes which lay in between the East Indies and Europe. The chart includes a fine inset of Augustin Bay, perhaps the finest anchorage on the island. On the right side of the chart runs the coast of Mozambique, starting from Lorenço Marques (Maputo) in the south up past the Portuguese fort of Mozambique. In the upper center of the map is another fine cartographic inset of Mombassa, the great trading port located on the coast of modern day Kenya. During this time, possession of Mombassa was fiercely fought over between the Portuguese and the Sultinate of Oman. The seas are elegantly traversed by rhumb lines and feature a wealth of navigational information including depth soundings and the locations of reefs and shoals.

In 1671, the London cartographer John Seller (fl.1664-97) commenced work on The English Pilot, a work that intended to challenge Dutch hegemony in the sea atlas market. Intended to be published in four books covering different regions of the globe, Seller published an uncompleted book on 'Oriental navigation' in 1675. Unable to continue this Herculean endeavour, Seller sold his rights to John Thornton, the official hydrographer to the English East India Company. Thornton took up the project with great fervour, publishing his first editions in 1689. Thornton did not publish his first edition of the Third Book, detailing navigation in the East Indies, until 1703. While Thornton largely based his charts on those of earlier Dutch cartographers, most notably those found in Pieter Goos' Zee-Spiegel and Lucas Janz Waghenaer's Mariner's Mirror, The English Pilot proved to be enormously popular. When John Thornton died in 1708, his brother Samuel took over the business and added to and modified existing charts. All four books were produced in editions until the 1760s, the Third Book ran into twelve editions up to 1761. The project succeeded in giving the English dominance in the sea chart market as the eighteenth-century progressed.

Cf. Phillips, Atlases, 4278-15; Verner & Skelton (eds.), John Thornton - The English Pilot: The Third Book (Facsimile 1703 edition)

#19532$2,000.00
 
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