Acquired From: Gowrie Galleries
Colouring: Uncoloured
Condition: Fair
Confirmed: No
Date Acquired: March 2018
Dealers ID No.: M859 (STK1615.01)
Description: Pierre Mortier published this richly ornamented double-hemisphere world map in Amsterdam around 1700 as part of his Atlas nouveau, a major French-language atlas conceived to rival the productions of Guillaume de LIsle and other leading French cartographers. Having studied in Paris in the early 1680s, Mortier was uniquely positioned to combine French geographic innovation with Dutch engraving and printing expertise. By 1690, he had secured exclusive privileges to publish and distribute French geographical works in the Dutch Republic, laying the foundation for one of the most ambitious cartographic publishing enterprises of the early eighteenth century.nThe map blends classical allegory with speculative geography. Its most striking feature is the depiction of the Mer de lOuest (Sea of the West), an expansive and hypothetical inland sea extending deep into western North Americaa cartographic concept widely debated at the turn of the eighteenth century. The east coast of Nouvelle Hollande (Australia) remains partially conjectural but incorporates information derived from Dutch exploration undertaken under VOC auspices.nThe Australian coastline incorporates discoveries from key Dutch voyages, including Willem Janszs 1606 landfall along the Gulf of Carpentaria; Dirk Hartogs 1616 encounter with the western coast (t Landt van Eendracht); Frederik de Houtmans surveys of 1619; the voyage of the Leeuwin in 1622, which established the south-western cape later known as Cape Leeuwin; Jan Carstenszoon and Pieter van Colsters 1623 survey of Cape York and Arnhem Land; Pieter Nuytss charting of the southern coast in 1627 aboard the t Gulden Zeepaert; Gerrit Frederikszoon de Witts 1628 observations of the northern coast (de Wits Land); and Abel Tasmans 1644 voyage, acknowledged on the map by the inscription Hollandia Nova: detecta Aº 1644. The routes of earlier global explorersincluding Ferdinand Magellan, Álvaro de Mendaña, Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, Jacques Le Maire, and Willem Schoutenare also shown, reinforcing the maps synthesis of historical exploration and contemporary geographic thought.nThe map is elaborately decorated with two ornate cartouches. The title cartouche is flanked by female personifications of the four continents, while the lower cartouche features a maritime fantasy with a whale bearing Mortiers imprint in its mouth, accompanied by a mermaid and merman. Four polar projections occupy the corners, lending a scientific counterpoint to the otherwise theatrical composition.The map exists in several undated states. According to map historian Tony Campbell, three principal states are known: an issue bearing the imprint of Pierre & David Mortier (c. 17021704), a Pierre Mortieronly imprint (c. 1705), and a later Covens & Mortier issue (c. 1721). Rodney Shirley has suggested that the Pierre Mortieronly imprint may in fact represent the earliest state, which would place the maps initial publication closer to 1700. The present example bears Mortiers sole imprint and is therefore likely an early issue.
First published: Atlas nouveau, contenant toutes les parties du monde, Amsterdam: Pierre Mortier, 1700
Mapmaker: Mortier, Pierre (1661-1711)
Notes: Purchase details
Other states: First 1700. Third 1721
Primary Category: World
Purchase Reference: Insurance Ledger June 2015
Rarity: R2 Very rare – one or two copies appear on the market
Shirley ID #: 621 Mapping the World
Technique: Copper Engraving
This state: 1705, Second
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