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Description

Eastern half of this extremely rare over-sized sea chart of the Baltic, originally published by Johannes Loots and later re-issued by his widow and brother-in-law, Isaac Swigters, and likely reissued thereafter tby Hendrik Mooy after 1750. The chart includes a large dedication cartouche to Admiral Gerard Callenburg.

The earliest edition of this chart, without the cartouche in the upper right corner, would appear to have been issued in 1716, according to the reference in the Martime Museum Rotterdam: www.maritiemdigitaal.nl/index.cfm?event=search.getdetail&id=100110249 . A note in the Finische Bodem includes a date of 1715 and, to its right, a second date of 1750 in a different annotation, establishing that this edition of the chart was published in or after 1750.

Loots chart of the Baltic Sea extended from Copenhagen and Rostock in the west, to Wyborg, Narva and Ryga in the east, showing the region in exceptional detail, including soundings, anchorages and many other details. The present chart would seem to be Loots' second published chart of the Baltic, following after his chart of circa 1700, which likely was based largely upon the surveys of Peter Gedda, published in 1694 by Jacobus Robijn, which Loots had pirated in 1697. This map credits Abraham Maas (1641-1729), a surveyor who was active in the Baltic Region (see for example his 1727 Manuscript Chart of the Gulf of Finland dated 1727 in the National Library of Sweden) and also in South America (on behalf of the Dutch West India Company,) at the beginning of the 18th Century (Maas is credited with the oldest surviving manuscript survey map of the Essequibo Colony on the Venezuela-Guiana Border, constructed sometime between Maas's arrival in 1701 and the transmission of the map back to the Company by Governor Samuel Beekman in 1706). Maas is also known to have created an important map of the Silk Road and was apparently working in Russia toward the end of his life.

As noted by Tooley "Whereas land maps once made tended to remain static till a new type appeared, sea charts were constantly revised, either in small particulars or large areas, a fact that makes their study most absorbing."

While Loots, in his lifetime, was a prolific chart maker, very few of his charts have survived to modern times, almost certainly because the vast majority of the charts were used by mariners at sea. This is the first reference to Hendrik Mooy which we have seen on a printed chart.

Hendrik Mooy (1715-1765) was a maker of Cross Staffs in the Netherlands and second cousin of Isaac Swigters. Mooy continued the business of Swigters at the same address in Amsterdam, "de Jonge Lootsman" (the Young Pilot). After Mooy's death, his wife, Alida Hamburg, continued the business until her death in 1795. It would therefore make sense that this example was re-issued after 1750, although as noted below, the reference work on Van Keulen states Swigters and Loots' widows sold the charts to the Van Keulen family. In "Finds From the Hollandia: The Pleinschall From the Hollandia" by Rex Cowan, published in The International Journal for Nautical Archaeology and Underwater Exploration (1982), 114: 287-296, a note regarding Swigters and Mooy at page 296, states that Mooy continued the business of In de Jonge Lootsman "under the old style." Cowan states that the plates for the charts were purchased by cross staffmaker Joachim Hasebroek (and not the Van Keulen family).

The Van Keulen book referenced below notes Hendrik Mooij as a competitor of the Van Keulen family in the making of cross staffs, but gives no date (p.61). The same book notes Jochem Hasebroeck as a competitor who was selling maps and charts from Niewebrugstreeg in 1709 (p. 15). At page 18, the same book states that in 1750, after the Van Keulen's took over the inventory of Swigters, it "left Jochem or Joachim Hasebroek as the Van Keulen's only competitor. Jochem Hasebroeck (1682-1756), is noted by one source as having been the successor to the cross staff making business of Jacob Robijn (who acquired the plates to the Burning Fen From Arent Roggeveen). Based upon the foregoing, it would certainly seem plausible that either the plate for this chart remained with the shop when it was acquired by Mooy or that Hasebroeck acquired the plate for this chart from the Swigter estate in 1750 and in turn sold it to Henrdik Mooy sometime before Hasebroeck's death in 1756.

Johannes Loots (1665 - 1726) was a publisher of sea charts who was active from the 1693 until his death in 1726. Loots began his career as an apprentice to Hendrick Doncker and later set up his own shop on Nieuwebrugsteeg in Amsterdam,in 1693. Between 1695 and 1698, Loots, Claes de Vries (a surveyor-cartographer) and Antoni de Winter (an engraver) entered into a joint venture to produce 200 sea charts on a Mercator Projection (Van Keulen Cartography, p 46). The plans were advertised in the Amsterdamsche Courant in August and October 1698 and several charts offered separately. However, the venture only produced 120 charts (Van Keulen Cartography, p. 47), and the partnership dissolved in 1707, with Claas de Vries selling at least 17 charts, including 16 large plates of the English Channel and a smaller plate of the Hull River, to Gerard Van Keulen on September 24, 1707 for 374 guilders) (Van Keulen Cartography, p. 16).

In 1696, Loots published a pirated group of charts of the Baltic, originally published by Swedish chart maker Peter Gedda in 1694. Loots published the Gedda charts under the name Paskaertboek van de Noord-en Oost-zee. Gedda would later file suit against Loots to block the publication. It would seem probable that the present chart was derived from the information first published by Gedda, although the map does not appear to be one of the pirated charts.

In 1707, Loots sold 100 charts on a Mercator Projection to Gerard Van Keulen. In 1707, Loots would appear to have purchased the plates of Jacob Robijn, which included the charts originally engraved by Arent Roggeveen for his Burnng Fen. These include a rare set of charts of the North American and Caribbean Coastlines, which were a significant improvement over the contemporary sea charts issued by Van Loon and Goos (for whom Roggeveen had originally made the charts).

At some point, Loots or his widow must have re-acquired the plates, as his widow and her brother, Isaac Swigters, continued to publish later editions of some of the charts until 1750, when Swigters,sold the remainder of the Loots charts to Johannes Van Keulen II and / or Jochem Hasebroek. Some of the plates were re-engraved to include the Van Keulen name and at least 1 (the plate of the North Sea) would ultimately wind up being issued by Hendrik Mooy (or Mooij), a cross staff maker and second cousin of Isaac Swigters, who would continue in business from the Jonge Lootsman address after Swigters' death in 1750 until his death in 1775 and his widow Alida Hamburg's death in 1795.

At the time of his death, the inventory of Isaac Swigters estate included 10,816 various maps, presumably, his unsold inventory. Apparently, Hendrik Mooy also retained some of the plates and was able to re-issue the maps with his name (and apparenlty an updated cartouche) in the top right corner.

During the life of Loots sea charts, it is known that some of the charts were copied by both Seller and Grierson. While an inventory of Loots shop included 464 copperplates, the number of plates known to have been published by Loots is far fewer and it would appear that this inventory included multi-plate charts and non-cartographic material.

Condition Description
Fragment--Eastern Half Only.
Reference
De Vries, Schilder, Bruyns, van Iterson & Jacobs, The Van Keulen Cartography Amsterdam 1680-1885 (2005); “Le libraire néerlandais Joannes Loots et sa maison d’éditions maritimes,” D. Gernez, Communications, Academie de Marine de Belgique, Tome VIII, 1954 (also: Mededelingen, Academie van Marine