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This detailed and decorative plan depicts the city, harbor, and fortifications of Mahón (Port Mahon) and Fort St. Philip on the island of Menorca, as fortified by the Spanish in 1706. The map, published during the Seven Years’ War, highlights Mahón's strategic importance as one of the finest natural harbors in the Mediterranean and a key naval base contested by European powers. It features a French and German key identifying major landmarks, defensive structures, and batteries, each labeled with their armaments.
Central to the plan is Fort St. Philip, a star-shaped bastion, surrounded by additional batteries and outworks such as St. Damian’s Battery, St. Jerome’s Battery, and St. Francis’s Battery. These defenses are carefully illustrated to showcase their complexity and strength. The surrounding countryside is rendered in exquisite detail, showing a patchwork of agricultural fields, forests, and roads.
This map was published by the heirs of Johann Baptist Homann, a leading cartographic publisher in Nuremberg, known for their finely detailed maps and atlases. The inset text provides both historical context and a detailed description of the city's fortifications.
Scarce on the market.
Homann Heirs was a German publishing firm that enjoyed a major place in the European map market throughout the eighteenth century. Founded in 1702 by Johann Baptist Homann, the business passed to his son, Christoph, upon Johann’s death in 1724. Christoph died in 1730, aged only 27, and the firm was inherited by subsequent Homann heirs. This altered the name of the company, which was known as Homann Erben, or Homann heirs. The firm continued in business until 1848.
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