De Wit, De L'Isle, & Van der Aa - 3 Maps of South and Central America

De Wit, De L'Isle, & Van der Aa - 3 Maps of South and Central America
Included in this lot:


De L'Isle - Map of Southern South America with Paraguay & Chili

Description of the work:

This historic map with original outline color is from Guillaume de l'Isle (Delisle)'s atlas entitled Atlas Nouveau, contenant Toutes les Parties du Monde. The work was published in Amsterdam in 1733 by Covens and Mortier.

Guillaume de l'Isle (1675-1726) was son of a cartographer and a pupil of Jean Dominique Cassini, who among other important contributions, aligned the study of astronomy to the study of geography. Under Cassini's direction, observations were made from locations all over the world that enabled longitudinal calculations to be made with much greater accuracy. De l'Isle carried on this exacting work with remarkable dedication and integrity, constantly revising and improving his maps. While precision was his primary goal, his maps are invariably elegant and attractive.

Provenance: Birmingham-Southern College collection


Van der Aa - Map of Central America: Guadalajara, Yucatan Peninsula, Honduras, Costa Rica (Explorer: Ferdinand Cortes)


Description of the work:

This rare historic engraving is by Pieter van der Aa's De Aanmerkens-waardige Voyagien door Francoisen, Italiaanen, Deenen, Hoogduytsen en andere Vreemde Volkeren gedaan na Oost- en West-Ind. The work was published in Leyden (Leiden) by the author in 1706.

Pieter van der Aa (1659-1733) was a Dutch cartographer, publisher, and book seller. He was appointed to the bookseller trade from the age of 9 and went on to own a bookshop and auction house. He published many maps in his time, and became best known for his atlases on exploration and noted voyages. Much of what he published was composite atlases in which he utilized many other publishers plates and prints including Carel Allard and Frederik De Wit as well as his own work.


De Wit - Map of South America

Description of the work:

This remarkable folio engraving from a composite atlas of maps from Frederick De Wit. It was published in Amsterdam after 1688. It features original hand-coloring. De Wit published composite atlases using plate stock of his own and other Amsterdam map publishers. This included maps from the likes of Hondius, Bleau, and Visscher.

"The De Wit composite or 'dual-purpose' atlas is an early example of an atlas planned at its outset to serve as a land and a sea atlas in one. Koeman lists these works according to the number of maps and by and large this progression gives a fair idea of their development and therefore dates, beginning in the early 1660s. But he acknowledges it is not accurate and often subject to revised opinion. The index is quite unlike any of those listed in Koeman." (Wardington Catalogue)

Frederik De Wit (1629-1706) created a leading publishing firm in Amsterdam during the golden age of Dutch cartography. He was a catographer and mapseller that was best known for his atlases and his Dutch town maps. After De Wit's passing his wife, Maria, ran the shop for a few years before selling. At this point, most of his plates went to Pieter Mortier.


Paper Size: ~ 26" by 22" (Fold Out)
~ 9 1/2" by 6 1/2" (Fold Out)
~ 24 1/2" by 20 3/4" (Fold Out)

De L'Isle: The maps from the work are in generally very good to excellent condition. Due to age, some of the maps may exhibit handling or minor marks to be expected with age. There may be some light offset due to the fold out nature of the engraving. There may be a few minor imperfections or faint marks to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.

Van der Aa: The work is in very good to excellent condition overall. There can be some negligible offset due to the fold out nature of the plate. There may be minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.

De Wit: The work is in good to very good condition overall. There is some offset or color bleeding to the paper. On some of the engravings from this work, the oxidation of the color has weakened the paper and archival tape is placed at verso to reinforce the paper. There may be some wear or small separation at folds. There may be minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.
~ 26" by 22" (Fold Out)
~ 9 1/2" by 6 1/2" (Fold Out)
~ 24 1/2" by 20 3/4" (Fold Out)