EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN GREECE TURKEY MIDDLE EAST 1788 SCHRAEMBL HUGE ANTIQUE MAP

[Dritter Theil der Karte von Europa welcher das Suedliche Russland, Polen un Ungarn die europoaeische, und beinahe die ganze asitische Tuerkei enthaelt. Verfasst von Herrn D'Anville, New herausgegeben von Herrn F.A. Schraembl. MDCCLXXXVIII].

Description: Striking and highly detailed fine unusual 1788 copper engraved map focusing on the Eastern Mediterranean Basin and the Middle East. The map describes in great detail the territories that were largely part of the Ottoman Empire at the time, covering the area from the Balkans to Mesopotamia.
 
Composition and Medium:
 
The map is a finely detailed example of 18th-century cartography, utilizing outline color to distinguish different regions. The scale is approximately 1:2,850,000, allowing for a comprehensive view of the areas depicted. It is printed on paper and bound in an atlas, showcasing meticulous engraving techniques typical of the period.
 
Style and Subject Matter:
 
The style reflects the Enlightenment era's emphasis on precision and empirical data. The map employs a clear and structured layout, with geographical features like mountains, rivers, and coastlines intricately rendered. It includes numerous place names in German, showcasing the linguistic preferences of the atlas's intended audience.
 
Cultural and Historical Context:
 
This map is situated within the broader context of 18th-century European exploration and mapping. During this era, there was significant interest in documenting and understanding the geography of both Europe and the wider world. The collaboration between Schraembl and D'Anville underscores the period's reliance on the most accurate and authoritative sources available.
 
Notable Features:
 
- Geographical Coverage: The map includes parts of modern-day Turkey, Greece, and Syria, extending into the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
 
- Inscription: The title and place names are in German, reflecting the map's Austrian origins.
 
- Landmarks: Key geographical features like the Black Sea ("Schwarzes Meer") and the Mediterranean Sea ("Mittellaendisches Meer") are prominently labeled.
 
- Political Boundaries: While not as clearly demarcated as modern maps, the map uses color and line to suggest political boundaries and regions.
 
Significance:
 
This map represents the advanced state of cartographic knowledge in the late 18th century. It is part of a larger endeavor to compile global geographical data into a coherent and accessible format. The work is significant for historians and geographers studying the period's political and cultural landscapes, particularly in how it reflects the geopolitical understanding of Europe and the Near East during this time.
 
In conclusion, this map is a valuable historical artifact, illustrating the cartographic techniques and geopolitical knowledge of the 18th century. Its inclusion in a comprehensive atlas highlights the period's ambition to catalog and understand the world's geography systematically.
 
Source: Schraembl, K. A., Allgemeiner Grosser Atlas, (Vienna: Phil. Jos. Schalbacher) 1800.    

The Allgemeiner Grosser Atlas, alternatively titled Allgemeiner Grosser Schrämblischer Atlass, is considered the first Austrian commercial Atlas. It is a massive elephant folio atlas published in 1800 by Franz Anton Schrämbl (Schraembl; 1751 - 1803). The atlas drew from the best and most up-to-date cartographic information available, including the works of J. B. B. D'Anville (1697 - 1782) and James Rennel (1742 - 1830), and explorers such as James Cook (1728 - 1779), and Charles Roberts (1739 - 1825), among many others. It was published in Vienna by Phillip Joseph Schalbacher. The atlas was large and expensive, and as such, was of minimal commercial success and had a low circulate - leading to its considerable rarity today. It is believed that the atlas's slow sales and high production costs drove Schrämbl into insolvency by the time of his death in 1803.

Date: 1788 ( dated )

Dimension: Paper size approx.: cm 83,1 x 53,8

Condition: Very strong and dark impression on good paper. Paper with chains and wiremarks. Map old original colored. Small foxing and browning. Map folded. Conditions are as you can see in the images.

Mapmakers: Franz Anton Schrämbl (Schraembl; 1751 - December 13, 1803) was a Vienna-based cartographer working in the later part of the 18th century. Schrämbl was born in Vienna. He became director of the normal school in Troppau but soon quit to set up a bookshop in Vienna. In 1787, with fellow Austrian Franz Johann Joseph von Reilly (1766 - 1820), he founded a publishing firm. He began his great work, the Allgemeiner Grosser Atlas, in the same year. This ambitious large format atlas was to be based upon only the most up-to-date cartographic information available, among them cartographers J. B. B. D'Anville (1697 - 1782) and James Rennel (1742 - 1830), and explorers such as James Cook (1728 - 1779), Charles Roberts (1739 - 1825), and others. The atlas was published in 1800 and became the first Austrian commercial world atlas. The work experienced minimal circulation, possibly due to its high cost. The low sales nearly drove Schrämbl into insolvency, but he recovered through diversification into literature and art books. When Franz Anton died in 1803, his widow Johanna and her brother, the engraver Karl Robert Schindelmayer (1769 - 1839), assumed control of the firm. In 1825, his son, Eduard Schrämbl, took over.

Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville (1697-1782) was one of the foremost French geographers of the eighteenth century. He carried out rigorous research in order to create his maps, which greatly developed the technical proficiency of mapmaking during his lifetime. His style was also simpler and less ornate than that of many of his predecessors. It was widely adopted by his contemporaries and successors.
 
The son of a tailor, d’Anville showed cartographic prowess from a young age; his first map, of Ancient Greece, was published when he was only fifteen years old. By twenty-two, he was appointed as one of the King’s géographes ordinaire de roi. He tutored the young Louis XV while in the service to the Crown. However, royal appointment did not pay all the bills, so d’Anville also did some work for the Portuguese Crown from 1724. For example, he helped to fill out Dom João V’s library with geographical works and made maps showing Portugal’s African colonies. 
 
D’Anville disapproved of merely copying features from other maps, preferring instead to return to the texts upon which those maps were based to make his own depictions. This led him to embrace blank spaces for unknown areas and to reject names which were not supported by other sources. He also amassed a large personal map library and created a network of sources that included Jesuits in China and savants in Brazil. D’Anville’s historical approach to cartography resulted in magnificently detailed, yet modern and academic, maps. For example, his 1743 map of Italy improved upon all previous maps and included a memoir laying out his research and innovations. The geographer also specialized in ancient historical geography.
 
In 1773, d’Anville was named premier géographe de roi. In 1780, he ceded his considerable library to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be used for as a reference library for diplomats. D’Anville is best known for several maps, including his map of China, first published in 1735, and then included with Du Halde’s history of that country (the Hague, 1737). His map of Africa (1749) was used well into the nineteenth century.