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The item illustrated and described below is sold, but we have another example in stock. To view the example which is currently being offered for sale, click the "View Details" button below.
Description

Unrecorded 1711 edition of Nicolas De Fer's monumental double hemisphere wall map of the World, first published in 1694.

The present example includes updated cartography to 1705 and text revisions to 1711, making it a previously known variant.

De Fer's map is one of the most decorative wall maps of the World that is reasonably obtainable to a collector. First published in 1694, the map was periodically updated with the newest cartographic discoveries over the next 4 decades. Engraved by Hendrik van Loon, with decorative embellishments designed and engraved by Nicolaus Guerard, the map is one of the most enduring and iconic French wall maps of the World and would have hung in the salons and libraries of the French aristocracy during the Reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV. The map was issued for over 50 years, with periodic cartographic updates.

This early edition of the map shows California as an island and fascinating early depictions of Australia and New Zealand.

In the interior of Africa, De Fer records imaginary rivers and mountain ranges shown by his predecessors. One of the Nile Tributaries is shown correctly coming from Lake Tana, but the other finds its source in the Sahara. De Fer states along the equator that it is better to leave this space blank rather than fill it with unknown and imaginary particulars.

Along the top are pictures of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury, based upon Cassini and two plans of the sun and moon. A large tableau displays gods and goddesses, zodiac figures, winds and mythological scenes. The lower part of the map depicts mankind in all his activities.

There are 2 known copies of the 1694 map in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and one in Karlsruhe. Shirley was unable to locate any examples in British or American institutional collections, and gave the map an RRR, the highest level of rarity. Shirley notes editions of 1705, 1717 (text dated 1720), 1730 and 1737. Danet began publishing the map in about 1730. For an example of a Danet edition of the map with updated cartographic content, click here: /gallery/detail/29612

A nice example of this unrecorded early state of De Fer's monumental work.

Offered framed or unframed. If purchased with frame, shipping will be charged at cost.

Condition Description
The map has been rebacked with fresh linen. A number of repaired tears in the text panels, with minor restoration in several small spots with some loss to text in panels, and extensive restoration to margins.
Nicolas de Fer Biography

Nicholas de Fer (1646-1720) was the son of a map seller, Antoine de Fer, and grew to be one of the most well-known mapmakers in France in the seventeenth century. He was apprenticed at twelve years old to Louis Spirinx, an engraver. When his father died in 1673, Nicholas helped his mother run the business until 1687, when he became the sole proprietor.

His earliest known work is a map of the Canal of Languedoc in 1669, while some of his earliest engravings are in the revised edition of Methode pour Apprendre Facilement la Geographie (1685). In 1697, he published his first world atlas. Perhaps his most famous map is his wall map of America, published in 1698, with its celebrated beaver scene (engraved by Hendrick van Loon, designed by Nicolas Guerard). After his death in 1720, the business passed to his sons-in-law, Guillaume Danet and Jacques-Francois Benard.