| Method | Copper engraved |
| Artist | De Fer, Nicolas |
| Published | [Paris, c.1700] |
| Dimensions | 240 x 345 mm |
| Notes |
A charming, and scarce, bird's eye perspective view of the Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara, and Constantinople, from De Fer's L'Atlas Curieux ou Le Monde Représenté dans des Cartes Générales et Particulières du Ciel et de la Térre. The map, taken from the mouth of the Dardanelles near Cape Sigeion, is foreshortened, with Constantinople, modern day Istanbul) on the horizon. The map shows the Dardanelles as the division between Europe and Asia, with the geopolitically critical straits protected by a pair of fortresses across the water from each other. Numerous vessels sail through the straits. The towns of Gallipoli and Lampsacus are shown, along with a larger settlement probably intended to represent Çanakkale. In the bottom right corner, the ruins of Troy are depicted. Beyond the straits, the islands of the Propontis are labelled, and on the extreme right of the scene, Mt Ida rises above the river valley of the Simois. Nicolas de Fer (c.1646-1720) was a leading French cartographer and publisher of maps. The youngest son of the Parisian printer and card publisher Antoine de Fer, he began training as an engraver at the age of twelve. After the death of his father in 1673, de Fer took over his publishing house. He published numerous atlases, and specialised in maps that included new borders and newly conquered territories, as well as maps of cities. In 1690 he became official geographer to the French Dauphin and published his first Atlas of the Coasts of France. Within the next thirty years he acquired additional royal support, becoming official geographer to the Spanish King (formerly the French Duke of Anjou) in 1702, and after the death of the Dauphin in 1711, official geographer to both Spanish and French kings, and in the final year of his life, Géographe ordinaire de sa Majesté Catholique. Condition: Time toning and some damp soiling to edges of sheet, particularly the bottom right margin, not affecting plate. Small wormholes to bottom right margin. Includes an additional page of descriptive text in French. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £350.00 |
| Stock ID | 47353 |