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.

SCHENCK, Pieter 1660-1718/9

Dutch mapmaker and publisher. Born in Elberfeld, Germany in 1660. Moved to Amsterdam in 1683 where he became a pupil of Gerard Valck, later in 1687 he married Agatha Valck, sister of his associate., thus uniting two great families.

In 1686 he is noted in a privilege granted to Petrus Schenck and Gerardus Valck for the printing & sale of their prints.
The Valck and Schenk families where active as print sellers, publishers and printers of maps, atlases and architectural drawings as well globes. They accquired plates from the stock of Johannes Janssonius and also of Visscher reissuing several maps of Janssonius' "Atlas Novus "from 1683-94 and published an Atlas titled" Nova totius Geographia" in 1702.

The best known of the joint Pieter Schenk & Gerard Valck publications were the second edition of Andreas Cellarius's " Celestial Atlas Harmonia Macrocosmica'" 1708 and an edition of Jan Jansson's "Novus Atlas" entitled the "Atlas Anglois" published in London by David Mortier in 1715.

Pieter Schenck the Elder's earliest cartographic productions were a number of maps after Nicolas Sanson published in a composite Atlas, "Atlas Contractus or Atlas Minor" c.1696. He also published a further composite Atlas, "Atlantis sylloge compendiosa," c.1702.


Other works included his famous Atlas of one hundred town views," Hecatompolis" [1702];" Le Theatre de Mars "[1706]; and the "Schouwburg van der Oorlog"[1706].
Koeman III, page 114 Map 407; Sche 2/ Val1. 352 by 513mm (13¾ by 20¼ inches).   ref: 2578  €350