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Striking map of America, showing California as an island and including New Zealand and Australia in the lower left corner.
The present map, while at first glance appearing similar to maps by Visscher, De Wit and others, would appear to be a unique and perhaps previously undiscovered map.
It is clearly not a copy of De Wit's map of 1675, as the De Wit map does not include New Zealand. It is similarly not a copy of the Visscher map, as Visscher's map has a Briggs model of California as an Island, the upper left cartouche is completely different and Australia is not shown. It is similarly not a copy of John Ogilby's map of 1671 for the same reasons.
It would in fact appear that this map is previously unrecorded map (not a variant edition).
Includes a nice depiction of a double set of the Straits of Anian, which would also seem to distinguish this map from all other, similar maps.
Covens & Mortier was one of the largest and most successful publishing firms in Dutch history and continued in business for over a century. Pierre Mortier the Elder (1661-1711) had obtained a privilege in 1690 to distribute the works of French geographers in the Netherlands. After his widow continued the business for several years, Cornelis (1699-1783) took over in 1719.
In 1721, Mortier forged a partnership with Johannes Covens (1697-1774), who had recently married Cornelis’ sister. They published under the joint name of Covens & Mortier. In 1774, upon the death of his father, Johannes Covens II (1722-1794) took over his father’s share. In 1778, the company changed its name to J. Covens & Zoon, or J. Covens & Son.
Covens II’s son, Cornelis (1764-1825), later inherited the business and brought Petrus Mortier IV back into the fold. Petrus was the great-grandson of Petrus Mortier I. From 1794, the business was called Mortier, Covens & Zoon, or Mortier, Covens, & Son.
The business specialized in publishing French geographers including Deslisle, Jaillot, Janssonius, and Sanson. They also published atlases, for example a 1725 reissue of Frederik de Wit’s Atlas Major and an atlas, with additions, from the works of Guillaume Delisle. There were also Covens & Mortier pocket atlases and town atlases. The company profited from acquiring plates from other geographers as well. For example, the purchased Pieter van der Aa’s plates in 1730. Finally, they also compiled a few maps in house. At their height, they had the largest collection of geographic prints ever assembled in Amsterdam.
