MAP 102
Extremely rare 1747 Dutch Map of North America with California as an Island !
This translates to:
Map of the Northern Part of America - Drawn and Published to Amelo by Jacobus Keizer and to Deventer by Ian de Lat
Special Features:
Guest Editor:
I, Harald Leuba, am listing this map on eBay with the permission of the eBay account holder, my wife of 56 years, Nancy Kingsbury, aka "Showjudge".
She is worried about how to find homes for our "stuff" when I die -- > if I die before her.
We have enjoyed living with this map in our collection, but as I age, (I am now 86), I feel that I ought to protect IT from becoming lost in some 2nd hand store and, more importantly, I need to protect Nancy from having to cope with how to harvest its reasonable value in a time of personal stress.
[In other words: We are downsizing!]
......
I bought this map from John Faupel, Antique Atlas, East Grinstead, UK some 25 years ago. It was his # 152 in catalog 108.
I have misplaced John's catalog.
However: (a) John titled it:
Keizer, J “Kaartje van het Noorder-deel van America” 1747
And (b) If I put:
Keizer, J “Kaartje van het Noorder-deel van America” 1747
Into Google Images:
The first image that matches this map is:
AbeBooks
This translates to:
Map of the Northern Part of America - Drawn and Published to Amelo by Jacobus Keizer and to Deventer by Ian de Lat
Jacob Keizer
Published by c.1747
Description 175 x 235 mm. Nice original hand color with California as an island, & the northwest "Unknown Land" extending (one supposes) nearly to Asia.
“Rare Dutch Map of North America
“Unusual map of North America, with California as an Island.
“The map would later be revised to show California as a Peninsula.
“Rarity
“This is the first time we have ever seen the map.
“Reference McLaughlin 232”
However: THIS map is in the Stanford University “Glen McLaughlin Collection of California as an Island.” Item 232.
See my Photo #6 above.
“Publication date
1747
Map data
Scale [ca. 1:50,000,000] (W 173°00'--W 10°00'/N 84°00'--N 7°10').
Note
C. Blanco is northernmost point. Onbekend Land to northwest and Mozeemlek to north.
California portrayed as an island, but touching mainland near center of eastern coast, and with generally indented coastline.
In: Atlas portatif tres exact ou Livre de Carte, geographiques. Très utile pour parvenir à la parfaite connoissance du Globe Terrestre, des quatres parties du Monde, & en particulier des Royaumes, & Païs de l'Europe. &c.: Weerelds hand-atlas, of Naauwkeurig Geographische Kaart-Boekje , [Map 12]/ par Jean de Lat. -- à Deventer, mis au jour par Jean de Lat, Marchand de Cartes Geographiques & Libraire, & par Jacob Keyser, Graveur, à Almelo, 1747. 1 atlas ([ii,34 plates]) : hand col. maps ; 19.8 cm. Various map projections. Index in French and Dutch.
Which translates to:In: Very Accurate Portable Atlas or Map Book, Geographical. Very useful to achieve a perfect knowledge of the Terrestrial Globe, of the four parts of the World, & in particular of the Kingdoms, & Countries of Europe. &vs.: Weerelds hand-atlas, of Naauwkeurig Geographische Kaart-Boekje , [Map 12]/ by Jean de Lat. -- at Deventer, unearthed by Jean de Lat, Merchant of Geographical Maps & Bookseller, & by Jacob Keyser, Engraver, at Almelo, 1747. 1 atlas ([ii,34 plates]): hand col. maps; 19.8cm. Various map projections. Index in French and Dutch.
…
Essay on California as an Island (Quoted from Barry Lawrence Ruderman, Antique Maps, Inc.)
“The popular misconception of California as an island can be found on European maps from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. From its first portrayal on a printed map by Diego Gutiérrez, in 1562, California was shown as part of North America by mapmakers, including Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius. In the 1620s, however, it began to appear as an island in several sources.
“The myth of California as an island was most likely the result of the travel account of Sebastian Vizcaino, who had been sent north up the shore of California in 1602. A Carmelite friar, Fray Antonio de la Ascensión, accompanied him. Ascension described the land as an island and around 1620 sketched maps to that effect. Normally, this information would have been reviewed and locked in the Spanish repository, the Casa de la Contratación. However, the manuscript maps were intercepted in the Atlantic by the Dutch, who took them to Amsterdam where they began to circulate. Ascensión also published descriptions of the insular geography in Juan Torquemada’s Monarquia Indiana (1613) (with the island details curtailed somewhat) and in his own Relación breve of ca. 1620.
“The first known maps to show California as an island were on the title pages of Antonio de Herrera’s Descripción de las Indias Occidentales (1622) and Jacob le Maire's Spieghel Der Australische Navigatie (1622). Two early examples of larger maps are those by Abraham Goos (1624) and another by Henry Briggs, which was included in Samuel Purchas’ Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas his Pilgrimes (1625). In addition to Briggs and Goos, prominent practitioners like Jan Jansson and Nicolas Sanson adopted the new island and the practice became commonplace. John Speed’s map (1626-7), based on Briggs’ work, is well known for being one of the first to depict an insular California.
“The island of California became a fixture on mid- and late-seventeenth century maps. The island suggested possible links to the Northwest Passage, with rivers in the North American interior supposedly connecting to the sea between California and the mainland. Furthermore, Francis Drake had landed in northern California on his circumnavigation (1577-80) and an insular California suggested that Spanish power in the area could be questioned.
“Not everyone was convinced, however. Father Eusebio Kino, after extensive travels in what is now California, Arizona, and northern Mexico concluded that the island was actually a peninsula and published a map refuting the claim (Paris, 1705). Another skeptic was Guillaume De L’Isle. In 1700, De L’Isle discussed “whether California is an Island or a part of the continent” with J. D. Cassini; the letter was published in 1715. After reviewing all the literature available to him in Paris, De L’Isle concluded that the evidence supporting an insular California was not trustworthy. He also cited more recent explorations by the Jesuits (including Kino) that disproved the island theory. Later, in his map of 1722 (Carte d’Amerique dressee pour l’usage du Roy), De L’Isle would abandon the island theory entirely.
“Despite Kino’s and De L’Isle’s work, California as an island remained common on maps until the mid-eighteenth century. De L’Isle’s son-in-law, Philippe Buache, for example, remained an adherent of the island depiction for some time. Another believer was Herman Moll, who reported that California was unequivocally an island, for he had had sailors in his offices that claimed to have circumnavigated it. In the face of such skepticism, the King of Spain, Ferdinand VII, had to issue a decree in 1747 proclaiming California to be a peninsula connected to North America; the geographic chimera, no matter how appealing, was not to be suffered any longer, although a few final maps were printed with the lingering island.”
…
My Comment:
Our map is clearly exactly the same MAP as the Stanford example.
In Dutch, with new title: Nieuwe Kaart van NOORD AMERIKA volgens de Nieuwste waarnemingen. / door H. Mol.(sic.). "I.Deel, Bladz.279." (top right).
Our map is in excellent original condition: no stains or stray marks, no cuts or tears; no thin spots!
The margins are full.
The coloring is gentle outline color (See Photo #2.)
The seam joining the two pages is aligned perfectly (See Photo #3.)
The coloring is contemporary with publication (See again Photo #3.)
The map lies flat.
The map surface is lovely and bright and clean, No offsetting or darkening.
We have cared for this map my holding it flat, unfolded, on a sheet of poster board wrapped with a layer of Saran Wrap.
If you are interested enough in maps to be considering buying an Original Antique, you know that the plates for antique maps were often reused/reprinted/recycled/revised and that there are many different (related) versions available today. You will also know that maps were not usually stand-alone images. They appeared in bibles, histories, and even, as here, in atlases!
Last month, Barry Ruderman came to our house to look at our maps with a view to his acquiring the whole collection. He was warmly professional and lived up to his reputation for expertise. He said that our maps had been well cared for and were in good condition.
He put an estimated market value on this map of xxxx
--> if he were to offer it for sale in his business.
{Of course, since he has to make a profit in his business, he did not offer us that much!}
{The last recorded sale was $500.00; the only copy of this map on the market right now is listed at $750}
Take a look and Buy it Now, or make an offer.
.....
Our map has not been framed; it has been held onto poster board by a protective shield of Saran wrap.
Our map has not been “restored” or “repaired”; it is still in as issued condition!
Please help us find a new home for this treasure.
Thank you for looking.
Harald & Nancy
P.S. Inflation? NO! When I bought my first map, there was silver in our US coinage. When I was in college, I could buy a gallon of gas for a silver quarter and mail a letter home for 4ç.
TODAY I can buy a 1.33 gallons gas for the value of that silver quarter, but postage is now 60ç.
Antique maps have doubled in price in the last ten years. Are they a store of value?
I think so, but whether they are or not, they can be a permanent source of pleasure.
P.P.S We are using the proceeds of this sale, not to add “dollars” to our bank account, but to support local charities (to help neighbors who have lost income due to Covid)!
We hope you enjoy your purchase, and have warm feelings from having helped others.