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An attractive map of the region bounded by northern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and extending inland up the Ganges and Indus Rivers to Tartary and the Himalayas, including Katmandu, Kabul and other legendary cities along the great trading route.
Extends south to include a large portion of India, including Narsinga, Orixa Decan, etc. Elephants shown roaming the Ganges and camels east of Kabul. Decorative cartouches and sailing ships. The map was originally issued by De Wit, circa 1690.
The Covens & Mortier edition of this map is quite rare on the market, this being only the second example we have seen in more than 20 years.
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.
![[Tibet] Sudwestliches Tibet Nach eigenen Aufnahmen von H.S. Landor, 1897](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/64364.jpg)
