GOALD COAST AFRICA 1747 GREEN & ASTLEY UNUSUAL ANTIQUE ORIGINAL MAP

Description: Striking and highly detailed very interesting unusual copper engraved map of the Gold Coast,  modern-day Ghana and part of Ivory Coast, from the Issini River to the Alampi region, at the eastern border of modern Ghana. The map notes rivers, bays, coastline,reliefs and islands. 

The work, engraved by George Child, was published in London around 1745–1747 as part of the famous travelogue "A New General Collection of Voyages and Travels" (Astley).
 
Source: John Green (ed.) A New General Collection of Voyages and Travels. Consisting of the most esteemed relations, which have been hitherto published in any language; comprehending everything remarkable in its kind, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. London: for Thomas Astley, 1745-47.

Date: 1747 ( undated )

Dimension: Paper size approx.: cm 37,8 x 23,7

Condition: Very strong and dark impression on good paper. Paper with chains . Sheet uncolored. Wide margins. Small foxingand browning. Conditions are as you can see in the images.

Cartographers: Thomas Astley (died 1759) was a bookseller and publisher in London in the 18th century. He often wrote about relevant topics at the time, and contributed to many of those controversial topics. He ran his business from Saint Paul's Churchyard (circa 1726–1742) and Paternoster Row (circa 1745). He belonged to the Company of Stationers. He published the celebrated "Voyages and Travels which described localities in Africa and Asia, compiling information from travel books by John Atkins, Jean Barbot, Willem Bosman, Theodor de Bry, Francis Moore, Jean-Baptiste Labat, Godefroi Loyer, Thomas Phillips, William Smith, and Nicolas Villaut de Bellefond". It included engravings by G. Child and Nathaniel Parr. Astley intended his Voyages to improve upon the previous travel collections of Samuel Purchas, John Harris, and Awnsham & John Churchill. It was read by patrons of Hookham's Circulating Library, Boosey's circulating library, London Institution, Royal Institution, Salem Athenaeum, and Cape Town public library. Astley's Voyages was translated into German (Schwabe (1747–1774), Allgemeine Historie der Reisen, Leipzig) and French (Prévost (1746–1789), Histoire des voyages, Paris).

George Child (born 1706, fl. 1737-1753) was an English engraver, based in London. The son of a gardener, he was given a charitable apprenticeship as a goldsmith in 1720 (not an uncommon early training among engravers.) He produced maps for the English edition of du Halde’s ‘description the empire of China and Chinese-Tartary’ and Thomas Astley’s ‘New General Collection of voyages and travels,’ among other works. He was also known for his landscapes and views.