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Description

Columbus Studying A Map of the World

Fine image of Christopher Columbus and onlookers, with a compass and hemispheric map on the table before him. 

The image shows Columbus, wearing a narrow-brimmed hat with a plume and a thick, fur-trimmed cloak, sitting at one end of a table, marking a route with dividers on a map, watched by a prior sitting beside him, another leaning across the table from the left, a third standing behind them, and a young boy holding a jug, standing on the right, with a dog behind him.

The map includes a crest and  dedication from the publisher to Henry S Holford, owner of the original painting, and "Painted by Sir David Wilkie R.A. / London Published June 18, 1843, by F.G. Moon, Threadneedle Street, Printseller in Ordinary to Her Majesty / Engraved by H.T. Ryall Historical Engraver to the Queen.".  The present example notes that it has been republished by Thomas Bosy on February 15 ,1853.

Rarity

The image is apparently very rare. We locate the example of the 1843 edition in the British Museum (Registration number 1854,1111.67).

We have been unable to locate another example of this 1853 edition.