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Rare Van Keulen "Secret Atlas" Chart of Xiamen Area with Rare Set of Profile Views
Rare sea chart of trading port of Amoy (Xiamen) and Quemoy (Kinmen), joined here with the even rarer set of profile views showing various approaches to the area, which would have been used by Dutch navigators in the mid-18th Century.
Offered here in striking full original color, this maritime chart and its companion profile views, represent a significant achievement in the charting of the maritime gateway to Amoy (present-day Xiamen) and Quemoy (present-day Kinmen). Published by the Van Keulen family, the leading sea chart publishers of the time and the official chartmakers for the Dutch East India Company (VOCD), these works stand as the first to offer such comprehensive and precise delineation of this important trading region.
The chart meticulously details the relevant coastlines, showing anchorages and soundings, and identifies a multitude of terrestrial landmarks essential for the safe navigation of these historically complex waters. A number of small vignettes on the main chart shown Pagodas, the English Factory, town of Amoey, Dutch forts, a bridge and an umber of other structures useful for navigation.
Xiamen, a bustling seaport since the Song Dynasty, has a storied history as a stronghold and sanctuary for Ming loyalists in their resistance against the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Notably, Koxinga, the son of a pirate-merchant, established his base here to contend with the Qing regime. His legacy endures, with a monumental statue commemorating his figure on Gulang Yu island, overseeing the harbor. Similarly, the profile views show both natural and man-made features, including the Dutch settlement at Quemooy, with two prominent flags atop towers.
The history of foreign interaction with Xiamen is marked by transient incursions and prolonged exclusions. Portuguese missionaries, who arrived in the 16th century, were quickly expelled, followed by intermittent trade engagements by British and Dutch merchants until the port's closure in the 18th century. It was not until the aftermath of the First Opium War and the signing of the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 that Xiamen was reintroduced to the global stage as a designated Treaty Port, rejuvenating its status as a nexus of international trade.
During this period, Xiamen became the principal port for the export of Chinese tea. Gulang Yu evolved into a foreign enclave, allocated to overseas settlers, where the architectural vestiges of this era persist, offering a tangible connection to the city's rich and multifaceted heritage. These charts not only navigate the physical maritime contours but also chart the complex historical currents that have shaped the identity of Xiamen and Kinmen.
The VOC Secret Atlas
The so-called "Secret Atlas" of the Dutch East India Company was, in fact, Part VI of the Zee-Fakkel, published by Johannes (II) Van Keulen, from 1753. For the first 150 years of the Company's history, the VOC had resisted producing printed sea charts of the area east of South Africa, which the VOC saw as their proprietary region. By keeping these charts secret, the best available navigational information and coastal details would remain proprietary. To this end, manuscript charts were produced with proprietary information by the likes of Isaak de Graaf.
The Secret Atlas (Volume VI of the Zee-Fakkel), like the VOC manuscript maps before it, was never offered for sale to the public and was only issued to VOC ships, with explicit instructions that the charts must be returned at the completion of each voyage.
Rarity
The map is extremely rare on the market. We locate only a single example offered for sale by a dealer in the past 30 years and no other examples in published auction records.
Provenance: Swann, December 2023.
The Van Keulens were a family of chartmakers and publishers. The firm, In de Gekroonde Lootsman (In the Crowned Pilot), was founded in 1678 by Johannes van Keulen (1654-1715). Van Keulen originally registered his business as a vendor of books and instruments (specifically cross-staffs). In 1680, however, he gained a privilege from the States of Holland and West Friesland for the publication of pilot guides and sea atlases.
In that year, van Keulen released his Zee-Atlas (Sea Atlas), which secured him a name in the competitive maritime publishing market. In 1681, he published the first volume of Nieuwe Lichtende Zee-Fakkel (New Shining Sea Torch). This would be the first of an eventual five volumes originally published between 1680 and 1684. A sixth volume was added in 1753. The Zee-Fakel won van Keulen lasting fame. The atlas had charts compiled by Claes Jansz Vooght and artwork from Jan Luyken. It proved immensely popular and was reprinted until 1783. There were translations in French, English, Spanish, and Italian.
The late-seventeenth century was an auspicious time to enter the maritime chart business. Previous industry leaders had either closed shop, died, or retired, leaving space for a new competitor. Van Keulen proceeded to buy up the stock and privileges of several maritime publishing firms; the most notable was the stock of Hendrik Doncker, acquired in 1693.
Johannes’ son, Gerard (1678-1726) took over the business upon his father’s death. Gerard was a skilled engraver and mathematician. His talents were noticed, as in 1706 he was named as Hydrographer to the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
In turn, Gerard’s son Johannes II (1704-1770) came to run the shop. He was also tied to the VOC, and his role as their chartmaker allowed his charts to be considered as quasi-official government documents. It is with access to formerly clandestine VOC geographic knowledge that Johannes the Younger was able to add a sixth volume to the Zee-Fakkel, which covered the East Indies. Johannes also continued to sell instruments, including the recently-invented Hadley’s Quadrant from 1744.
When Johannes II died in 1770, his widow ran the business in his stead, aided by her two sons, Cornelis Buys (1736-1778) and Gerard Hulst (1733-1801). Now a century old, the family business had extended to include an anchor factory. After Cornelis died in 1778, Gerard took on the management of the firm alone. He oversaw the introduction of sextants to their inventory and published the Dutch Nautical Almanac beginning in 1788. Annual editions appeared until 1885. Gerard also served as an original member of the Dutch Commission for Longitude at Sea from 1787.
Gerard’s widow ran the business for nine years after his death, when their son, Johannes Hulst, started to lead the firm in 1810. After his death in 1844, the firm passed out of family hands and into the control of Jacob Swert, a skilled cartographer who had worked for the business for two decades. He passed the work to his son, another Jacob, in 1866. By the mid-nineteenth century, the conversion from sail to steam had diminished the size of the market for charts. Fewer sailors needed fewer maps, charts, and instruments. In 1885, after 207 years in business, In de Gekroonde Lootsman closed its doors and auctioned its stock.
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