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With Portrait of the King of Poland and Lithuania
Large engraved antique map of Poland, Lithuania and the Holy Roman Empire, by one of Amsterdam's most important mapmakers, Peter Schenk.
The map includes a portrait of King Augustus II the Strong, Elector Saxony, Imperial Vicar, and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697-1706 and again from 1709 until 1733. Somewhat strangely, the portrait obscures the engraved title of the map, making it difficult to decipher.
King Augustus's portrait is surmounted by a black eagle clutching fire and lightning.
Rarity
The map is quite scarce; we find one copy in the State Archives of North Rhine-Westphalia.
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.
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