| Method | Copper engraved |
| Artist | Quad, Matthias and Bussemacher, Johann |
| Published | Henricus Nagel fecit [Cologne, c.1600] |
| Dimensions | 190 x 275 mm |
| Notes |
An attractive quarto map of Scotland, originally engraved by Henricus Nagel for Quad's Europae totius orbis terrarum partis praestantissimae, universalis, et particularis descriptio. The current example, with German blackletter text on the verso, is most likely from the 1600 edition of Quad's Geographisch Handtbuch, an expansion of his earlier Latin atlas published in conjunction with Johann Bussemacher. Scotland is shown with west to top, heavily annotated with place names in Quad's distinctive and attractive italic text, and the seas are marked with fine wavy patterns. Principal towns and cities are picked out in red, and coasts and mountain ranges are also hand coloured. A pair of sailing ships ply the waters of the Irish Sea, the title is enclosed in a decorative strapwork cartouche, and above the scale in Scottish miles a fox holds a large compass. The map, like Quad's map of England and Wales from the same series, is cartographically a relatively close copy of the Ortelius map of the British Isles, itself based on the survey of the Welsh geographer, Humphrey Llwyd. Quad's map first appeared in his European atlas of 1592, and was reprinted in Cologne five times between 1593 and 1608. It also appeared, unchanged, in geographical works published by Johannes Rauw in Frankfurt. Matthias Quad (1557-1613) was a Dutch-German cartographer, geographer, author, engraver, and publisher. Born in the Netherlands, Quad was one of a number of leading lights in the mapmaking community of Cologne at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Aside from working as an engraver for Braun and Hogenberg's Civitates Orbis Terrarum, Quad also partnered with Johann Bussemacher in the production of a number of smaller scale atlases, inspired by the success of Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. The first, an atlas of Europe, was published in 1592. This was later expanded into the Geographisch Handtbuch of 1600, and finally the Fasciculus Geographicus in 1608. Johann Bussemacher (fl.1580-1613) was a German publisher, printer, art dealer, and engraver, active in Cologne at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth century. He is best remembered for a series of engravings of the Labours of Hercules after Aldegrever, and for preparing many of the map plates for three atlases he co-published with Matthias Quad. Condition: Central vertical fold, as issued. Small puncture and tears to top of fold, not affecting map. Minor creasing and time toning to margins. German text on verso. |
| Framing | mounted |
| Price | £425.00 |
| Stock ID | 52777 |