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Bidding has ended on this item. Item:1827 Vandermaelen Map FLORIDA & THE BAHAMAS Elegant Map  |
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54.5 cm x 47 cm lithograph, 72 cm x 54 cm sheet size, original hand colour, Brussels, 1827 We are pleased to offer this scarce original map of Florida and the Bahamas compiled and published by the brilliant Belgian geographer Philippe Vandermaelen (1795-1869) from his monumental Atlas Universel de Geographie Physique, Politique, Statistique et Mineralogique, a work consisting of six volumes with a total of 378 map sheets drawn as globe gores on the so-called Flamsteed or modified conical projection at a unprecedented 1:1,641,836 scale - the whole of which assembles to form a globe of 7.775 meters in diameter. The atlas offered no less than the largest picture of the earth's surface that had ever been recorded. Despite a sale price of 600 gold francs (~ $4000 in 2009 USD) the atlas was a commercial success, selling hundreds of copies to customers ranging from the crowned heads of Europe to Alexander von Humboldt to the Pope. The income from the atlas as well as a significant inheritance enabled Vandermaelen to found the Brussels Geographic Institute along the Chaussée de Gand and Charleroi Canal (along with two adjacent and rather opulent homes for Vandermaelen and his brother), the library of which housed the only example of the giant globe ever constructed from the plates of the atlas. Employing a team of draughtsmen, lithographers and geographers Vandermaelen's Institute continued producing maps of all types throughout his life - nearly 5000 published maps in all. Discerning collectors have in recent years come to appreciate Vandermaelen's importance as a visionary geographer - "a worthy follower of Mercator and Ortelius" as his biographer Eugene Gilbert de Cauwer put it - as well as the beauty and historical importance of the Atlas Universel maps. This rare and important map is rightly considered one of the most desirable of Vandermaelen's maps and will make an elegant presentation if matted and framed.
We begin our survey of the map in north Florida, where we find the St. John River and Lake George accurately charted, although the "High Mountains" to the south thereof is a somewhat curious notation. The "road network" is identified as Indian trails and the entire region is said to be swampy yet fertile. To get a sense of the detail present on the map consider that the diagonal distance from St. Augustin to Tampa Bay as seen in the enlarged photo below measures just 14 cm actual size.
Heading further south we find orange groves marked on the Atlantic coast, Lake Okeechobee shown as Lake Macaco, the Everglades named as such with pictorial depiction of swampland:  Vandermaelen
chose to produce his maps through the medium of lithography - still a
relatively new printing technology at the time. With the
assistance of his partner Henri Ode, a master lithographer,
Vandermaelen did much to advance lithography in Belgium, spurring other
mapmakers to abandon copper or steel engravings in favour of
lithography. However they did not attempt to produce the maps
through chromolithography - each map is individually hand
coloured.
Grand Bahama and Great Abaco:
Nassau, Eleuthera and environs:
Portrait of Vandermaelen in his later years:
Below we see a circa 1840 lithograph presenting a view of his Geographic Institute, made possible by the success of the Atlas Universel. The lithographic workshop was in the basement, the right wing of the ground floor was taken up by draughtsmen and colourists and the left wing housed Vandermaelen's office and a lecture hall. The two upper floors housed the library with the enormous globe in the centre of an open gallery where an "Ethnographic Museum" was displayed along with collections of coins, botanical specimens, minerals etc.
As with many of Vandermaelen's maps he presents commentary on his subject, here writing about pomegranates, sassafras, oak, pine and iron mining in Florida. Note slight taper of actual map area on both sides reminding us that the map is, in fact, a globe gore!
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Shipping and handling Item location: Indianapolis, IN, United States Shipping to: Worldwide
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