Egypt.

Mercator Gerhard, Hondius Jodicus. Egypt. "Ægyptus" Amsterdam, " Exusum in aedibus Jodici Hondij veneunt etiam apud Corneliu Nicolai. item apud Joannem Janssoniu Arnhemi." 1607
Copper engraved map of Egypt from the first edition of Gerhard Mercator's "Atlas Minor". Latin text to verso.
The map shows the course of the Nile to the Delta with all the settlements and also the Red sea coast. Dark impression; old ink number to upper margin; damp stain to lower right blank margin just entering image.
Koeman: Me186. 150 by 190mm (6 by 7½ inches).    €120

Guinea, West Africa.

Mercator Gerhard, Hondius Jodicus. Guinea. "Guinea." Amsterdam, " Exusum in aedibus Jodici Hondij veneunt etiam apud Corneliu Nicolai. item apud Joannem Janssoniu Arnhemi." 1607
Copper engraved map of Guinea. West Africa from the first edition of Gerhard Mercator's "Atlas Minor". Latin text to verso.
The map shows Guinea, West Africa with inset of the island of St Thomas. Dark impression; old ink number to upper margin entering plate; upper margin short (3-7mm); lower right corner missing with loss to extreme corner of image.
Koeman: Me186. 147 by 184mm (5¾ by 7¼ inches).    €100

The Kingdom of Abyssinia.

Mercator Gerhard, Hondius Jodicus. The Kingdom of Abyssinia. "Abissinorum Regnu" Amsterdam, " Exusum in aedibus Jodici Hondij veneunt etiam apud Corneliu Nicolai. item apud Joannem Janssoniu Arnhemi." 1607
Copper engraved map of the Kingdom of Abyssinia from the first edition of Gerhard Mercator's "Atlas Minor". Latin text to verso.
The map shows the Kingdom of Abyssinia, East Africa . Dark impression; old ink number to upper margin; damp stain to lower right blank margin.
Koeman: Me186. 140 by 178mm (5½ by 7 inches).    €200

the Kingdom of Fez.

Mercator Gerhard, Hondius Jodicus. the Kingdom of Fez. "Fessae Regnum" Amsterdam, " Exusum in aedibus Jodici Hondij veneunt etiam apud Corneliu Nicolai. item apud Joannem Janssoniu Arnhemi." 1607
Copper engraved map of the Kingdom of Fez. from the first edition of Gerhard Mercator's "Atlas Minor". Latin text to verso.
Decorative title cartouche and ship to sea. Dark impression; old ink number to upper margin entering image; upper margin short (3mm); damp stain to lower right blank margin .
Koeman: Me186. 155 by 191mm (6 by 7½ inches).    €180

Abyssinia/ Æthiopia.

Mercator, Gerard. Petrus Kaerius/ Pieter Van der Keere. " Abissinorum. sive Prestiosi Joannis, Imperium. " Amsterdam, Johannis Cloppenburgji. 1632
Copper engraved map of the Legendary Kingdom of Prestor John, otherwise Abyssinia/ Æthiopia, , from" Gerardi MercatoRis, Atlas sive Cosmographicae Meditationes de Fabrica mundi et fabricati figura, "Latin text to verso. Dark impression; light toning; minor spotting and dampstaining to blank margins. Worm hole / track [6mm] to right scale [ between Equator & parallel 10 south].
Keoman:Me200. 189 by 252mm (7½ by 10 inches).    €130

Barbary. North Africa.

Ortelius, Abraham. Phillip Galle. "Barabaria, et Biledulgerid. " Antwerp Joannem Bapt. Vrientium/ Vrients. 1601
Copper engraved minature map by Phillip Galle of the Barbary Coast, North Africa with the western Mediterranean from" Epitome theatri Orteliani praecipuarum orbis regionum delinaetiones. . Editio ultima" Latin text to verso, describing the succeeding map. . Dark impression, overall toning, light dampstaining to blank margins. Weakening and holes along the plate mark to the right caused by the printing process. [Unrepaired]
Koeman Ort58; Phillips 413; 78 by 108mm (3 by 4¼ inches).    €50

Egypt.

Ortelius, Abraham. Phillip Galle. "Ægyptus" Antwerp Joannem Bapt. Vrientium/ Vrients. 1601
Copper engraved minature map by Phillip Galle of Egypt, from" Epitome theatri Orteliani praecipuarum orbis regionum delinaetiones. . Editio ultima" Latin text to verso, describing the succeeding map. . Dark impression, overall toning, light dampstaining to blank margins.
Koeman Ort58; Phillips 413; 79 by 109mm (3 by 4¼ inches).    €70

Madagascar, Africa.

Porcacchi Da Castiglione, Tommaso S.Lorenzo. "Descrittione dell'Isola di San Lorenzo." Venice Simone Galignani & Girolamo Porro. 1620
Copper engraved map of the island of Madagascar called "San Lorenzo" by Girolamo Porro from Porcacchi's " L'Isole piu Famose del Mondo" 1620 6th edition [ 1st 1572]. Set in a page of descriptive Italian text, with decorative woodcut headpiece and historiated initial. Single page. folio, text to verso.
Compass rose and monster to sea. Good impression; lightly toned.
110 by 150mm (4¼ by 6 inches).    €150

Madagascar.

Porcacchi Da Castiglione, Tommaso. Girolamo Porro Of Padua Descrittione de L'Isole di S.Lorenzo S.Lorenzo Venice Gorgio Angeliera a instantia de gli Herede di Simone Galignani de Karera 1590
Copper engraved map of the island of of Madagascar called "San Lorenzo" by Girolamo Porro from Porcacchi's " L'Isole piu Famose del Mondo" Set in a page of descriptive Italian text [page 178], with decorative, woodcut headpiece and historiated initial. Single page. folio, text to verso.
Compass rose and monster to sea. Dark Impression; worm track to upper right blank margin.
Adams P-1906; Alden and Landis 590/54; BMC Italian, p.534; Sabin 64151. 110 by 150mm (4¼ by 6 inches).    €170

Marmarica, North Africa.

Ruscelli, Girolamo. Gioseffo Rosaccio, after Giacomo Gastaldi. "Marmaica Nuova Tavola. " Venice Hereredi di Melchior Sessa. 1598-99
Copper engraved map of "Marmarica", part of north Africa between Cyrene and the Nile, from the 4th edition of Ruscelli's " Geografio di Claudio Tolemeo, Alessandrio. . ", edited and augmented by Rosaccio. Italian text to verso. 4to. Dark impression; some show through of text from verso; 2 small paper flaws to engraved area.
Sabin:66507 190 by 262mm (7½ by 10¼ inches).    €130

Ancient Morocco.

Ruscelli, Girolamo. Gioseffo Rosaccio, after Giacomo Gastaldi. "Tabula Aphricæ I. " "Tavola Prima d'Africa Antica, in cui si contengono amendue le Mauritania, cio è la Tingitana & la Cesariense. " Venice Hereredi di Melchior Sessa. 1598-99
Copper engraved map of North Africa which is today Morocco. from the 4th edition of Ruscelli's " Geografio di Claudio Tolemeo, Alessandrio. . ", edited and augmented by Rosaccio. Italian text to verso. 4to.
Rosaccio has added a galley & 2 large fish to the sea. Dark impression; some showthrough of text from verso.
Sabin:66507 186 by 261mm (7¼ by 10¼ inches).    €150

Guinea, West Africa.

SANTINI, P.(? FRANCOIS) Guinea with the Capo Verde iislands, Senegal, the coast of Guinea itself and the Kingdoms of Loango, Congo, Angola and Benguela. " Carte de la Guinée contenant les Isles du Cap Verd, le Senegal, la Côte de Guinée proprement dite, les Royaumes de Loango, CongoAngola et Benguela...." Venice, Remondini, 1779
Copper engraved map of West Africa from Santini's "Atlas universel dressé sur les meilleures cartes modernes". Original outline colour; verso blank.
The map after Bonne shows the coastal regions of West Africa, with an inset map of the Gold coast after d'Anville.
Black & white decorative title cartouche with a lion or leopard and large crocodile. Dark impression; some light staining to blank margins.
460 by 625mm (18 by 24½ inches).    €200

Guinea, West Africa.

Schenk, Petri & Valk Gerardi. Guinea. "Guinea." Amsterdam Schenk, Petri & Valk Gerardi c1700
Copper engraved map of Guinea, West Africa after Janssonius from Schenk and Valk's " Atlas Contractus." Original full wash colour; verso blank.
The map after Jansonnius shows the coast of West Africa from Sierra Leone to Gabon, focused upon Guinea and Benin; numerous elephants, lions and monkeys within the land; ships, monsters and compass roses to sea.
Decorative title cartouche surmounted by natives and monkeys; 2 black putti bear an elephant tusk above the sea at bottom left corner. Good impression with bright colour; worm track to upper centre fold in blank margin with old paper repair to verso, not entering image.
The maps of Schenk and Valk are famous for their full wash colour , however often the pigments, particularly in the greens deteriorated leading to browning and eventually could cause the paper to crack, for this reason it is unusual to see such bright original colour.
Koeman III, page 114 Map 446; Sche 2/ Val1. 380 by 514mm (15 by 20¼ inches).    €500

North Africa and the Barbary coast.

Schenk, Petri & Valk Gerardi. New Barbary described. "Nova bARBARIæ DESCRIPTIO." Amsterdam Schenk, Petri & Valk Gerardi c1700
Copper engraved map of North Africa from Schenk and Valk's " Atlas Contractus." Original full wash colour to Barbary, otherwise outline colour; verso blank.
The map shows the coast of North Africa and most of the Mediterranean sea with cities in Spain and Portugal particularly marked. Along the coast are the various North African kingdoms. Fez Tunis etc, which make up "Barbary" The course of the Nile is shown with much detail as are the other rivers. Numerous texts give information, The whole land is decorated with wild animals; elephants, antelopes, lions, leoprds, camels, ostriches, monkeys, crocodiles and even dragons.
Decorative title cartouche, black and white as issued. Good impression with bright colour.
The maps of Schenk and Valk are famous for their full wash colour , however often the pigments, particularly in the greens deteriorated leading to browning and eventually could cause the paper to crack, for this reason it is unusual to see such bright original colour.
Koeman III, page 114 Map 407; Sche 2/ Val1. 352 by 513mm (13¾ by 20¼ inches).    €350

Æthiopia, Abyssinia, the Kingdom of Prester John.

Schenk, Petri & Valk Gerardi. Æthiopia, Superior and Inferior commonly called Abyssinia or the Kingdom of Prester John. "Aethiopia Superior vel Interior vulgo Abissinorum sive Prebiteri Joannis Imperium." Amsterdam Schenk, Petri & Valk Gerardi c1700
Copper engraved map of East Africa Æthiopia from Schenk and Valk's " Atlas Contractus." Original full wash colour; verso blank.

The map shows a major section of central and eastern Africa including Mozambique north to present day Sudan
The map contains numerous coastal place names such as Mozambique Island, Quiloa, Mombaza, and Melinde indicating the importance of the area to both Arab, Portuguese, and traders and explorers from other countries. Congo is shown on the west coast and the two lakes of Zaire and Zaflan described by Ptolomy are in the lower portion of the map. Lake Niger, and the supposed course of the Niger River, is shown flowing westward. This map is based on Ortelius' map of Prester John of 1573.
Decorative title cartouche, black and white as issued; elephants, ostriches and monkeys within the land.

The legends of Prester John (also Presbyter Johannes) were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval popular fantasy. Prester John was reportedly a descendant of one of the Three Magi, said to be a generous ruler and a virtuous man, presiding over a realm full of riches and strange creatures, in which the Patriarch of the Saint Thomas Christians resided. His kingdom contained such marvels as the Gates of Alexander and the Fountain of Youth, and even bordered the Earthly Paradise. Among his treasures was a mirror through which every province could be seen, the fabled original from which the "speculum literature" of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance was derived, in which the prince's realms were surveyed and his duties laid out.

At first, Prester John was imagined to reside in India; tales of the Nestorian Christians' evangelistic success there and of Thomas the Apostle's subcontinental travels as documented in works like the Acts of Thomas probably provided the first seeds of the legend. After the coming of the Mongols to the Western world, accounts placed the king in Central Asia, and eventually Portuguese explorers convinced themselves that they had found him in Ethiopia, which had been officially Christian since the 4th century. Prester John's kingdom was thus the object of a quest, firing the imaginations of generations of adventurers, but remaining out of reach. He was a symbol to European Christians of the Church's universality, transcending culture and geography to encompass all humanity, in a time when ethnic and inter-religious tension made such a vision seem distant. Good impression with bright colour.
The maps of Schenk and Valk are famous for their full wash colour , however often the pigments, particularly in the greens deteriorated leading to browning and eventually could cause the paper to crack, for this reason it is unusual to see such bright original colour.
Koeman III, page 114 Map 447; Sche 2/ Val1. 380 by 514mm (15 by 20¼ inches).    €600

Algiers, home of the Barbary Pirates.

Unknown Algiers "Algiers" Unknown Unknown c1690
Copper engraved view of Algiers, black and white ,verso blank.
We have been unable to identify the source of this fine view of the port of Algiers. It shows the city from the sea with numerous ships in the foreground, engaged in an exchange of fire.
Algiers was bombarded during the 1680s in an attempt to rid the Mediterranean of the Barbary pirates.
Enclosed in an engraved frame the title within an ornate cartouche decorated with seashells Further decorative swags of seashells either side. Good impression, folded; slight split at top and bottom of fold.
215 by 275mm (8½ by 10¾ inches).    €200