Germany Antique Map – “A New Map of the Empire of Germany divided into Circles” by John Gibson, 1764
Original 18th-Century Copperplate Map of the Holy Roman Empire with Hand Coloring
Description (EN):
This antique map titled “A New Map of the Empire of Germany divided into Circles” presents the complex political structure of the Holy Roman Empire in the mid-18th century, showing its division into Imperial Circles (Reichskreise)—administrative units grouping principalities, bishoprics, and free cities for imperial governance.
Created by the English cartographer John Gibson and published in 1764, this map encompasses a vast region covering modern-day Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and parts of Poland, France, and Italy. Each Imperial Circle is hand-colored and individually labeled, including well-known circles such as the Rhenish Circle, Austrian Circle, Bavarian Circle, and Swabian Circle.
The engraving is detailed, featuring rivers, borders, mountain ranges, and important cities such as Vienna, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Prague. It captures the fragmented nature of the German-speaking world prior to unification, where over 300 semi-autonomous entities formed a patchwork of territories under the emperor's nominal rule.
John Gibson (ca. 1750–1792) was a prolific British cartographer and engraver, known for his decorative and accessible maps despite facing poverty and imprisonment. He engraved for The Gentleman’s Magazine and is especially remembered for his miniature atlas Atlas Minimus (1758). This map was likely issued in The Universal Magazine, another periodical he worked with.
Printed on laid paper with fine copperplate linework, this example is preserved in very good condition, with crisp detail and wide margins.
Mapmaker: John Gibson (ca. 1750–1792), British cartographer, engraver, and publisher; contributor to The Gentleman’s Magazine and The Universal Magazine
Key Features:
Original copperplate engraving, 1764
Hand-colored divisions of the Holy Roman Empire into Circles
Includes Central Europe from France to Poland
Cities, rivers, borders, and mountains clearly engraved
Historical insight into pre-unified Germany
Likely issued in The Universal Magazine
Size:
Sheet: 34.5 × 23 cm (13.5 × 9 in)
Image: 29 × 20 cm (11.25 × 7.75 in)
Condition:
Very good; sharp impression, clean sheet, light hand coloring preserved
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