Tag Archives: antique maps

Antarctica Yet To Be Discovered

antarctica vintage map reproduction

Map of the South Pole and the Adjoining Regions, 1803.

Long before Antarctica had been explored as a continent, there was frequent speculation about Terra Australia (Southern Land), a vast landmass located in the very south of the Earth, which balanced the continents in the northern hemisphere.

When circumnavigating the southernmost point of the South American mainland in 1520, Ferdinand Magellan believed that the land he was passing on the left side was actually an extension of the unexplored southern land. In reality, what he actually saw were the islands of Tiera del Fuego, the southernmost part of what is today Argentina. When Australia was discovered at the beginning of the 17th century, it was believed to be part of the Terra Australis. It was Abel Tasman who, about forty years later, proved that Australia was separated from the southern continent by the sea.

Captain James Cook first crossed the Antarctic Circle in 1772. Cook mapped a large part of the Southern Pacific and the Atlantic very well during his voyages and proved that Tiera del Fuego and New Zealand were not one landmass but were separated by the sea — a large ocean. It is now clear that Cook was very close to Antarctica and probably got as close as 240km (150miles) from the continent’s mainland. However, he never landed on its shores nor sighted land, as he was stopped by floating ice on his way further south. This is why this map, printed 30 years after his voyages, still does not depict the continent. Nevertheless, there are four zigzag lines representing Cook’s attempts to discover the southern continent, two of which can be seen within the Antarctic Circle.

Antarctica was finally discovered a couple of years later; the first sighting is documented in 1819 and the first landing documented in 1821.

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1720s – High Baroque in Prague

prague antique map reproduction

Map of the City of Prague, 1720.

This map of Prague shows the three oldest quarters of the city: The Old Town (including the Jewish neighbourhood of Josefov), the New Town and the Lesser Town. In 1720, Bohemia with Prague as its capital was part of the Habsburg Monarchy ruled by Emperor Charles VI. The first half of the 18th century was a period of High Baroque architecture in Bohemia.
In the first half of the 18th century, Prague’s iconic Charles Bridge featured 30 baroque statues of saints.

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The Foundation of Antananarivo

antique map reproduction madagascar

Map of the Island of Madagascar, 1677.

In the 17th century, the majority of the territory that is now Madagascar was part of the Marina Kingdom (c. 1540–1897). Antananarivo, the present day capital city of the modern state of Madagascar, was founded around the time the map was first printed. In the local language, Antananarivo means the city of the thousand. Back then, it took time to include a newly founded town into a map, which is why Antananarivo is not shown on this map.

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The Quest for the Northwest Passage Continues

arctic vintage map reproduction

Map of the North Pole and the Adjoining Regions of Europe, Asia and North America, 1803.

This map shows the Arctic region in the early 19th century. Whereas the northernmost parts of Europe and Russia had already been well mapped when the map was first released in 1803, the northern coastline of North America is only marked by a dotted line suggesting the probable position of the coastline.

The Northwest Passage that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans had been quested for centuries; there had been a number of voyages in the area aiming to explore the passage. The explorers Robert Bylot, Henry Hudson, and William Baffin mapped a large part of what is now eastern Canada in the early 17th century. Another important step in mapping this area was done by Samuel Hearne who was the first European to cross northern Canada to the Arctic Ocean shore in 1774. A more detailed mapping of the region, however, did not take place until the mid-19th century and it was not until 1903 – one hundred years after this map was printed – that the famous Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen set off on his voyage to be the first human in recorded history to complete the Northwest Passage.

The remoteness and the complicated access to the region are clearly described in Samuel Hearne’s memoirs: “A Journey to the Northern Ocean: the Adventures of Samuel Hearne“.

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The First Circumnavigation of Australia

vintage map reproduction australia south east asiaMap of Southeast Asia and Australia, 1803.

This map depicts Southeast Asia and Australia as it was known to European mapmakers in 1803. There were several voyages aimed at exploring and mapping the continent; starting with Willem Janszoon who, as the first European, landed on Australia’s Cape York Peninsula in 1606, followed by Dirk Hartog’s navigation to the coast of what is today the North West Division of Western Australia in 1616 and Abel Tasman’s second voyage to map the continent’s northern coastline in 1644. The eastern coast was charted by Captain James Cook in 1770. The entire coastline had not been drawn into maps before the first voyage of Captain Matthew Flinders (1801-1802) during which he mapped the remaining part of the southern coast and proved that Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) was separated from Australia by a strait, named after Flinders’ fellow navigator George Bass. The strait is already depicted in this map. During his second voyage in 1803, Flinders circumnavigated Australia as the first European. After completing the circumnavigation, Flinders set off to sail back to England. However, he spent six years in French captivity after he stopped in Mauritius because of the poor condition of his vessel.

The life story of this famous navigator and cartographer is captured in Miriam Estensen’s “Mathew Flinders: The Life of Mathew Flinders“.

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The Spice Trade Booms in the 16th century’s Asia

asia antique map reproduction

Map of Asia, 1579.

A map of Asia by the famous Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius. The islands that are today part of Indonesia and the Philippines are shown on a larger scale compared to the size of the rest of the continent. This may be due to their relative importance for the spice trade that flourished in the 16th century. The Moluku islands became a special source for spice traders as cloves, mace, and nutmeg could originally only be found in the Moluccas. Long debates related to the position of the islands followed after the division of the World into the eastern Portuguese and western Spanish spheres as both superpowers attempted to keep the revenue from the spice trade.

This period of Maluku and European history is narrated by Charles Corn in his “The Scent of Eden: A History of the Spice Trade”.

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Flanders in 1570s – Rebellion against the Spanish Rule

flanders vintage map poster

Map of Flanders, 1573.

This map of Flanders is a reproduction of the original map of Flanders by Gerhard Mercator, one of the founders of modern cartography. It was later copied by his disciple, another famous Flemish cartographer by the name of Abraham Ortelius and was reprinted in several editions – this being one of them.

In the 16th century, Flanders covered the western part of what is today Belgian Flanders (the River Scheldt being the frontier on the East), the western part of what is today Belgian Wallonia, as well as small areas that are today the Netherlands (the southern part of the Zeeland province), and France (Lille region).

In the second half of the 16th century, the Low Countries were undergoing turbulent times. Protestantism was becoming increasingly popular in the region, which was frowned on by the Spanish Hapsburgs, who ruled the area at that time. In 1568, Seven Northern Provinces led by William Orange revolted against the Hapsburgs and the rebellion quickly spread throughout the region. The Low Countries were of strategic importance to the Spanish Crown – Antwerp, Bruges, and other coastal towns were crucial gateways for Spanish colonial goods to Europe. In 1581, the Seven Northern Provinces declared their independence, although the uprising in the Southern Provinces was repressed in 1585 when Antwerp fell after twelve months of siege.

Helena Soister’s book “Prophecies” is historical fiction set in 16th century Antwerp.

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Sicilian Baroque: Revival of the Island after a Devastating Earthquake

vintage map poster of sicily

Map of the Island of Sicily, 1701.

In 1693, Sicily and neighbouring Calabria and Malta experienced one of the most destructive earthquakes ever recorded in the history of Italy. The estimated magnitude was 7.6 degrees. Approximately 60,000 people died and 70 towns were destroyed. The eastern coast of the island was the most severely affected where the aftermath was catastrophic. At that time, Sicily was under the rule of the Spanish Crown; therefore, the Spanish administration initiated a major recovery and rebuilding programme after the quake. The extent of the construction boom in the years that followed was enormous. The latest European trends in urban planning and architecture were brought to the island. New cities were founded as in many cases it was preferred to start from scratch rather than repair the original ruins. A specific “Sicilian Baroque” style was developed, which represented the best practices achieved in baroque style across Europe at that time. Sicilian Baroque was used until the 1730s, by which time most of the destroyed infrastructure was rebuild.

John Julius Norwich’s “Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History” also focuses on this crucial times in the island’s history.

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Power Division of the Western Balkans in the Early 17th Century

croatia vintage map reproduction

Map of the Western Balkans, 1603.

At the beginning of 17th century, the Western Balkan region was divided between three powers: the Republic of Venice dominated the peninsula of Istria and the Northern part of Dalmatia; the Hapsburg Monarchy ruled a strip of coastline between Istria and Dalmatia and the adjoining inland area of what is today Croatia. The last big power in the region was the Ottoman Empire, which controlled the area of what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Macedonia. The Republic of Radusa with its centre of Dubrovnik was also officially a vassal territory of the Turks. The borders of these territories are marked with a dotted line on the map.

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1780s: Canada Is Shaping Up

canada vintage map reproduction

Map of the Atlantic Canada, 1785.

The map covers the territory of what is today Atlantic Canada. In 1785, they were the British Colonies of Newfoundland, St. John’s Island (today called Prince Edward Island), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick (which split from Nova Scotia in 1784).

This map was released just eighteen years after Captain James Cook surveyed and mapped the area between 1763 and 1767. This was his second trip to the region; he first arrived as a soldier of the British Crown in 1757–1758 where he participated in the Siege of Quebec during this military expedition.

In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed and the United States officially recognized as an independent country by the British and other signatories. The Treaty also laid out how the borders would be charted in the area and granted fishing rights to the American fishermen in Atlantic Canada. Quebec was also a British colony at that time. However, after the arrival of 10,000 loyalists from the newly founded USA in 1791, the province of Quebec was divided into Lower Canada: a predominantly French-speaking region downriver of St. Lawrence River covering the south-eastern part of modern-day Quebec and areas on the Labrador peninsula that are nowadays part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Upper Canada, a predominantly English-speaking region upriver of St. Lawrence covering what is the southern part of the modern-day Province of Ontario.

Ann and Seamus”, a historical novel by Kevin Major set in Newfoundland about 40 years after this map was first printed narrates a story of Irish immigrants who were shipwrecked on the shore of the island when on their way to Quebec.

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