BENIN CITY NIGERIA 1765 SALMON UNUSUAL ANTIQUE ORIGIAL COPPER ENGRAVED VIEW

Description: Striking and highly detailed interesting 1765 Thomas Salmon's copper engraved view of  Benin City, southern Nigeria. The view shows the city with its buildings, town walls and surrouding landscape. Several inhabitants complete the view.

 
Source: Thomas Salmon. Lo stato presente di tutti i paesi e popoli del mondo naturale, politico, e morale con nuove osservazioni, e correzioni degli antichi e moderni viaggiatori. Venezia, Giovambattista Albrizzi, 1731-1766.

The work – in twenty-seven volumes – whose original title was "Modern history, or the present state of all nations," was translated from English and printed in Venice by Albrizzi over several years and traces a historical analysis of the nations of the world enriched by the geographical and artistic description of cities and include copper engravings depicting the territories, general views and the monuments. 

Date: 1765ca ( undated )

Dimension: Paper size approx.: cm 19,2 x 13,8

Condition: Very strong and dark impression on good paper. Paper with chains. Map uncolored. Small foxing and browning. Sheet folded. Conditions are as you can see in the images.
         
Mapmaker: Thomas Salmon (1679–1767) was an English historical and geographical writer. Born at Meppershall in Bedfordshire, and baptised there on 2 February 1679, was son of Thomas Salmon, by his wife Katherine, daughter of John Bradshaw; Nathanael Salmon was his elder brother. William Cole wrote that he wrote much of his work in Cambridge, where he ran a coffee house, and then moved to London. He told Cole that he had spent time at sea, and in both the East and West Indies for some time. He also travelled in Europe. In 1739–40 Salmon accompanied George Anson on his voyage round the world. He died on 20 January 1767.