A Selection of Rare Maps and Atlases
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Donald Heald Rare Books A Selection of Rare Maps and Atlases Donald Heald Rare Books A Selection of Rare Maps and Atlases Donald Heald Rare Books 124 East 74 Street New York, New York 10021 T: 212 · 744 · 3505 F: 212 · 628 · 7847 [email protected] www.donaldheald.com All purchases are subject to availability. All items are guaranteed as described. Any purchase may be returned for a full refund within ten working days as long as it is returned in the same condition and is packed and shipped correctly. The appropriate sales tax will be added for New York State residents. Payment via U.S. check drawn on a U.S. bank made payable to Donald A. Heald, wire transfer, bank draft, Paypal or by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover cards. 1 BACHMANN, John. Panorama of the Seat of War. Birds Eye View of Kentucky and Tennessee showing Cairo and part of the southern states. New York: John Bachmann, 1861 [but 1862]. Chromolithograph, by Bachmann. A fine copy of this bird’s-eye by Bachmann, ‘one of the finest American artists and lithographers specializing in bird’s-eye views’ (Stephenson & McKee), recalling a pivotal moment in the Civil War. ‘Bachmann did six views of the Confederate States like this one ... They are very rare.’ (Rumsey). The clouds of smoke over Fort Donelson show that this image is intended to recall a moment in time between February 11th and the 16th, 1862, when Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant besieged and secured the surrender of Fort Donelson. The 12,000-stong garrison’s unconditional surrender was a major victory for the Union and a catastrophe for the South: Kentucky stayed in the Union, and Tennessee became vulnerable to a Northern advance along the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Grant, who received the nickname ‘Unconditional Surrender’, was also promoted to Major General, and came to be considered as an important figure in the western theater of the war. Stephenson Civil War Maps (1989) 23.5; Rumsey 2657; Reps p.160 (‘No finer artist of city views worked in America than John Bachmann). (#20706) $ 4,750 2 BACHMANN, John. Panorama of the Seat of War. Birds Eye View of Virginia, Maryland Delaware and the District of Columbia. New York: Charles Magnus, 1864. Chromolithograph, by Bachmann. Backed onto tissue with neat repaired tears to margins (two just touching the title) . Sheet size: 24 x 34 1/2 inches. Third state of this fascinating quasi-aerial view of the northernmost part of the east coast of the Confederacy, and the southernmost areas of the Union, including Washington: this third issue, printed after the smoke that was added to Manassas for the second issue had been removed again, has “many towns and battlefields ... added, especially around Richmond, Petersburg, and Fredericksburg” (Rumsey). It was published by Charles Magnus of New York. ‘At the outset of the Civil War, John Bachmann, of New York City, one of the finest American artists and lithographers specializing in bird’s-eye views, began producing a series of panoramas of likely theaters of War’ (Stephenson & McKee Virginia in Maps p.239). This view, taken from the apparent vantage point some miles up in the outer atmosphere, was designed to serve as an individual stand-alone image (as here), but also to join with two other views by Bachmann which together form one continuous panorama of the east coast of the Confederacy. In all, Bachmann published six views covering the whole ‘Seat of the War’. The present image covers an area which includes the locations of a number of well-known Civil War actions: Harper’s Ferry, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, Manassas, Petersburg and Appomattox River, Richmond and environs. John Bachmann was one of America’s leading viewmakers, having been responsible for some of the finest New York City views. This innovative cross between view and map appears to have been his own invention, and it gives an intriguing and different perspective on the conflict. The first state of this view was published by Bachmann in 1861, the second state was published with smoke billowing up from Manassas in reference to the first Battle of Bull Run; the present third edition was published by Charles Magnus in 1864, the battlefield smoke having been removed. Cf. Stephenson Civil War Maps (1989) 2 & 3 (1st and 2nd states); cf. Stephenson & McKee Virginia in Maps p.239 (2nd state); Rumsey 2817 ; cf. Reps p.160 (‘No finer artist of city views worked in America than John Bachmann”) (#20527) $ 6,500 3 BLAEU, Jan (1596-1673). [WORLD] Nova et Accuratissima Totius Terrarum Orbis Tabula. Amsterdam: Jan Blaeu, [1662]. Copper-engraved map, with original colour. Latin text on verso. Skillful marginal repair to center fold. Sheet size: 19 1/2 x 24 inches. An aesthetic triumph and the culmination of Dutch cartography. This is the new world map prepared by Blaeu for the eleven volume Atlas Maior of 1662. Unlike its predecessor with its marginal city views and native peoples, this is a double hemispheric map with the classical gods that personify each planet and Apollo, the Sun. Each planetary deity is portrayed with his astrological attributes: Mercury with flying cap and caduceus; Venus with cupid at her side; Mars armed for battle; Jupiter with thunderbolts; and Saturn brooding and holding a flag of a six pointed star (a symbol in Saturn worship). Just below to the left and right are portraits of Claudius Ptolemy and Amerigo Vespucci. At the base are four allegorical personifications of the seasons, each on a chariot. All of which place Earth in a larger context and make the map a celebration of the Western European scientific and exploratory achievements. This was the key map to Blaeu’s Great Atlas: the culminating work of 100 years of Dutch cartography and 300 years of European seafaring. It is one of the most beautiful world maps ever made. Shirley, The Mapping of the World, 428; van der Krogt, Atlantes 0001:2B. (#20834) $ 28,000 4 [BOSTON] - Johann Carl MÜLLER (publisher). Geographische Belustigungen zur Erläuterung der neuesten Weltgeschichte. Mit Landkarten, Planen und Kupfern nach den neuesten und besten Originalen. (Zum Besten einer Freyschule in Sachsen). Erstes Stück. Allgemeine Beschreibung der engländischen Colonien in Nord-Amerika, nebst eien Plane von Boston. Leipzig: In der Johann Carl Müllerischen Buch-und Kunsthandlung, 1776. Part I (only, of 2), quarto (10 x 8 3/4 inches). Collation: *2, A-C4, D2 (Title [verso blank], 2pp. ‘Vorerinnerung’, pp.1-28 text). Woodcut decorative vignette on title, 2 woodcut headpieces, 1 large folding hand-coloured copper- engraved map ‘Carte von dem Hafen und der Stadt Boston’ by Georg Friedrich Frentzel after Jean Chevalier de Beaurain. Original grey paper wrappers, uncut (some soiling and small tears to covers, backstrip defective), modern blue morocco-backed blue cloth box, titled in gilt on “spine”. A fine unsophisticated copy of this very rare part work including one of the most important Revolutionary War maps of Boston, that Krieger & Cobb cite as “the only German map of Boston [made] during the Revolutionary period.” Müller apparently issued two parts to this work, both of which are exceptionally rare. There are no auction records; Sabin notes the present first part, but was evidently unaware of the existence of the second part, sub-titled “Allgemeine Beschreibung der engländischen Colonien in Nord-Amerika, nebst einer Karte von denselben und einer Karte von Long-Island.” OCLC records only a single copy of this work (with both parts) in the New York Public Library. The interesting text gives details of the history of the English in North America, followed by sections on New England, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and the territory of Sagadahock, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The text ends with a note that other colonies will be described in the next part: “Die übrigen Colonien folgen in dem nächsten Stücke.” The highly important map is a version of a French map of the same year, which itself made use of J.F.W. Des Barres “Map of the Port of Boston.” It captures the moment when British forces, still in control of Boston, prepare to face George Washington’s Continental forces. Boston, on a narrow peninsula is shown to be in an increasingly precarious defensive position. In an improvement over its French predecessor, the present edition makes a clear reference to the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775), noting the “Ruinen von Charles=town.” Around the city, the placement of the respective forces is depicted with unparalleled accuracy, with the British troop lines highlighted in blue and the Continental troop lines in red. Three divisions of Washington’s forces are placed with one at Cambridge, one at Charlestown Neck, and another above Roxbury. The observer will notice that the British commanders elected not to place troops atop Dorchester Heights. Washington later took this ground, giving him an irrepressible advantage over the British in the ensuing siege. The British were compelled to leave the city in March, 1776. The map measures 21 3/8 x 26 inches. Cf. Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, Anh.25-36.Bd., 3.Abt., 1780, pp.1367-1369; cf. OCLC 41205246 (listing only 1 example, the New York Public Library copy, containing both parts); Sabin 26980 (mentioning only the present first part) For the map, see: The Library of Congress Quarterly Journal no.30, (1973), pp.252-253; Cresswell The American Revolution in Drawings and Prints 706; Krieger & Cobb Mapping Boston p.181, pl.27; Pedley The Map Trade in the Eighteenth-Century pp.27- 30, figs. 4 & 5; Nebenzahl 18; Sellers & Van Ee Maps and Charts of North America & the West Indies 924 (#19448) $ 22,500 5 BRADLEY, Abraham, Jr.