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Description

One of The Earliest Obtainable Printed Maps of the Atlantic Ocean.

Rare separately-issued Lafreri School map of the North Atlantic, with extensive coverage of North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and West Africa.

Fernando Bertelli's very rare separately issued map of the North Atlantic is one of only a few Lafreri maps that include significant detail in North America. First issued in about 1565, it is generally found in Italian composite atlases bound up to order by Antonio Lafreri of Rome in the 1560s and '70s.

The map derives from the rare map of Nicolas de Nicolai. De Nicolai was the French Royal Geographer in the mid-16th century. De Nicolai's map is one of the first maps to accurately report a number of the earliest contemporary discoveries in the World. De Nicholai's map was essentially an improved version of the crude American map which appeared in the 1548 Valladolid/Seville edition of Medina's Arte de Navegar. De Nicholai's map, substantially enlarged and printed with a copper plate, shows knowledge of Cartier's voyages up the St. Lawrence and many more islands in the Gulf.

Along the eastern seaboard, the name C. des maria represents the Outer Banks of the Carolinas, the earliest reference to this region. Tierra Del Licenado Avolloh refers to the unsuccessful attempt at a colony by Spanish Conquistador Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon in South Carolina. The Bahamas are shown, as is Bermuda, and Cuba. The Yucatan is an island. Flordia is named, as is C. Berton (Breton), Tierra de los Bretons, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands, Hispaniola, Mexico City, etc. The Amazon is shown flowing North & South. The mythical Island of Brasil is shown.

Bertelli's map essentially picks up where De Nicholai's map ends. It includes the earliest appearances of the name Canada on a printed map, along with the location of Montreal (Ochelay). Perhaps of greatest note is the addition of two rivers, including one flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, in approximately the correct location for the Mississippi River (although arguably the direction of the river is as or more reminiscent of the Rio Grande). The inclusion of the river is a mystery, as are the settlements located on the River. Hernando De Soto discovered the River in 1541, so it is certainly plausible that Bertelli's map is an early attempt to show the Mississippi River. Bertelli's map differs from similar maps by Camocio and Forlani of the same period in that Bertelli includes more place names. However, the source for many of the names used by Bertelli remains unknown.

Bertelli dedicates his map to his patron, Lord Marco. Other embellishments include a compass rose at center, a scale in the top left corner, and longitude, latitude and rhumb lines. The map demonstrates the fine engraving quality of Italian maps of the mid-16th Century, at a time when Italian maps dominated the market and were without question the finest examples of the mapmaker's art. As Italy was the center of the European map trade during this period, the map exhibits excellent workmanship by its engraver. Indeed, Bertelli was one of the leading publishers and engravers of Venice.

Bifolco & Ronca (Tav. 50), say of the map (trans.):

A few years after the Atlantic map by Forlani-Camocio, a replica was produced that can be considered an updated edition published by the Bertelli printing house in Venice. In the dedication to Marco del Sole, the publisher Ferrando Bertelli recalls that he had previously commissioned a navigational map to be engraved, referring to the map by Forlani-Camocio. This statement, likely combined with stylistic similarities, convinced Woodward to also attribute this plate to Paolo Forlani. As announced in the dedication, the map is "more beautiful, abundant, and accurate"; improvements have indeed been made to the orography and hydrography of the New World, and several place names have been added. Of particular importance is the hydrographic system of the Amazon River, erroneously described in the first Venetian map, which is correctly outlined here with its tributaries. No reprints of the plate are known.

Transcription

The full transcription of the Italian title is:     

"Al Molto Magnifico: Signore: Marco del Sole Signore: mio osserv.mo Essendomi questi di addietro occorso di fare intagliare, una carta da navigare et sapendo quanto v.s. si diletta delle cose di Geografia mi ha parso far la venir fuori sotto il nome di v.s. spero pagare una minima parte del molto obbligo, ch' io ho con V.S. Si spero ancora presentare l'opera la più bella, copiosa, et giusta di quante ne sono fin qui uscite, prego quindi V.S. ad accettarla con lieto volto et a conservarmi nella sua grazia. D.V. Servitore, Ferando Berteli."

The English translation of this text is:

"To the Very Magnificent: Sir: Marco del Sole, my very esteemed Sir. Recently, I had the opportunity to carve a navigational map, and knowing how much you delight in things related to Geography, it seemed to me to publish it under your name, hoping to pay a minimal part of the great obligation I have with you. I also hope to present the most beautiful, abundant, and correct work that has so far been issued. Therefore, I beseech you to accept it with a cheerful face and to continue to favor me with your grace. Your Servant, Ferando Berteli."

The Lafreri School

The Lafreri School is a commonly used name for a group of mapmakers, engravers, and publishers who worked in Rome and Venice from ca. 1544 to 1585. The makers, who were loosely connected via business partnerships and collaborations, created maps that were then bound into composite atlases; the maps would be chosen based on the buyer or compiler’s interests. As the maps were initially published as separate-sheets, the style and size of maps included under the umbrella of the “School” differed widely. These differences can also be seen in the surviving Lafreri atlases, which have maps bound in with varying formats including as folded maps, maps with wide, trimmed, or added margins, smaller maps, etc.

The most famous mapmakers of the School included Giacomo Gastaldi and Paolo Forlani, among others. The School’s namesake, Antonio Lafreri, was a map and printseller. His 1572 catalog of his stock, entitled Indice Delle Tavole Moderne Di Geografia Della Maggior Parte Del Mondo, has a similar title to many of the composite atlases and thus his name became associated with the entire output of the larger group.

Condition Description
Engraving on a sheet of mid-16th-century Italian laid paper (with Woodward watermark 243, 245, 249, or 254, circa 1557-1570), trimmed to the platemark or just inside it, and joined to other sheets of 16th-century paper (left margins with Woodward 92, circa 1559-1570; top margin with Woodward 92, as well) to extended the margins "Lafrerir-style". Some minor staining at the joins and centerfold.
Reference
Bifolco and Ronca, Tav. 50, pp 340-341. Burden 36. Tooley 78.
Paolo Forlani Biography

Paolo Forlani (fl. ca. 1560-1571) was a prolific map engraver based in Venice. All that is known of his life are his surviving maps and prints, of which there are almost 100 (185 with later states included in the total). He also produced a globe and two town books.  It is likely he came from Verona and that he died in Venice in the mid-1570s, possibly of the plague.