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A finely engraved mid-18th century postal map of the Holy Roman Empire and adjacent regions, delineating the network of official post routes, printed by Matthäus Seutter in Augsburg circa 1740.
This map presents a richly detailed portrayal of the Reichspost and other regional postal systems across Central Europe, encompassing the territories of the Holy Roman Empire and its bordering polities. Extending from the North Sea and Baltic littorals to the Adriatic and from Paris to Krakow, the map offers a visual synthesis of communication infrastructure in a politically fragmented yet commercially interconnected landscape. The routes and stopping points of postal couriers—Posthalter, Poststationen, and other designated lodgings—are indicated throughout the densely inscribed geography, with symbols and lines clarified in the explanatory key in the upper right margin.
The Imperial postal system originated in the 16th century under the auspices of the Thurn und Taxis family, whose monopoly was sanctioned by the Emperor. By the 18th century, the network had expanded significantly, enabling both governmental correspondence and commercial communication to function with growing efficiency. This map reflects the mature stage of the Reichspost during the reign of Charles VI (1685–1740), when imperial administration and diplomatic affairs depended on a functioning transregional courier system. Produced in Augsburg—a major center of cartographic production—this map served both as a functional guide and a symbolic representation of imperial cohesion.
Seutter illustrates towns, villages, and waystations are noted with precision, while rivers and mountain ranges are rendered to aid orientation. The territories are outlined in varied color to denote imperial circles and other administrative divisions, highlighting the political complexity of the region. The title cartouche in the upper left is an elaborate baroque composition, showing mounted couriers, post horns, and wheeled carriages traveling across varied terrain, emblematic of the speed and reach of the postal system. The presence of Mercury, god of communication and commerce, signals the system's centrality to Enlightenment-era governance and trade.
Matthäus Seutter (1678-1757) was a prominent German mapmaker in the mid-eighteenth century. Initially apprenticed to a brewer, he trained as an engraver under Johann Baptist Homann in Nuremburg before setting up shop in his native Augsburg. In 1727 he was granted the title Imperial Geographer. His most famous work is Atlas Novus Sive Tabulae Geographicae, published in two volumes ca. 1730, although the majority of his maps are based on earlier work by other cartographers like the Homanns, Delisles, and de Fer.
Alternative spellings: Matthias Seutter, Mathaus Seutter, Matthaeus Seutter, Mattheus Seutter
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