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Description

Rare "Persian-language" Edition of the First Modern European Map of India.

Rare antique engraved map of modern-day India (excluding the far southern tip), Pakistan, and Bangladesh, published by Wilhelm Fitzer the successor to Johann Theodor de Bry (1561-1623) and Johann Israel de Bry (1565-1609), the sons of Theodor de Bry.

Relationship to the William Baffin Map

To our knowledge, this is the only version of the map to include the original Mughal seal with its contents in their original Persian. Though the map is closely related to that of William Baffin, its use of original script in Jahangir's dynastic seal in the upper right seems to preclude the De Bry edition having been derived from the printed Baffin. This is curious, as Baffin is widely understood to be the author of the manuscript map on which the printed map is based, having prepared it for Sir Thomas Roe's 1617 geographical compendium on India.

Susan Gole, in Early Maps of India, lists six states or editions of the Elstrack-Roe-Baffin map of India but did not record the present version.

A comparison of this edition with the original Baffin and the Purchas images suggests that the Purchas was followed most closely, with some material changes to toponyms (such as "The Gate" having been replaced by "Porta Suretana"). This is in keeping with the general modus operandi of the De Bry firm.

Rarity

According to a search of OldMaps.com, a single example of this map has appeared on the market in 30+ years, described as an anonymous circa 1625 engraving at OWA in 2009.

The map appears in the rare Volume XII (the penultimate volume) of De Bry's "Petite" Voyages, which was first published in 1627.

Condition Description
Engraving on laid paper. Trimmed into the graticulated border at left and right. Somewhat unevenly trimmed to the neatline at the top. Scattered light foxing.