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Description

Scarce separately issued map of America, which is perhaps most notable for its two decorative cartouches, which are believed to have been engraved by the noted artist Romain de Hooghe.

A decorative map of America, featuring California as an island on the Sanson projection and early hints of Northern Australia. Open-ended Great Lakes. The Mississippi River is pushed far west of its actual course. The Straits of Anian appear. The southwest is dominated by Indian details.

The map is quite scarce, owing to its controversial history. Schenk enjoyed a successful career issuing prints following his being granted a license in Amsterdam in 1686. However, it was not until 1695 that he received a license from the states of West Friesland and Holland to publish his maps, many of which were based on Sanson's work. In September 1696, he issued a notarized statement that his maps would be only for personal use and would not compete with the license granted to Pierre Morter. His mentor Gerard Valk signed a similar agreement, relating to 11 maps which had already been engraved, of which this map is believed to have been one of the maps. As a result of the legal disputes over the publication of this map, it was apparently not widely used.

Condition Description
Old color, recently refreshed.
Reference
Burden II #722.McLaughlin 120, Tooley 56.
Peter Schenk Biography

Peter Schenk the Elder (1660-1711) moved to Amsterdam in 1675 and began to learn the art of mezzotint. In 1694 he bought some of the copperplate stock of the mapmaker Johannes Janssonius, which allowed him to specialize in the engraving and printing of maps and prints. He split his time between his Amsterdam shop and Leipzig and also sold a considerable volume of materials to London.

Peter Schenk the Elder had three sons. Peter the Younger carried on his father’s business in Leipzig while the other two, Leonard and Jan, worked in Amsterdam. Leonard engraved several maps and also carried on his father’s relationship with engraving plates for the Amsterdam edition of the Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences.