.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Atlases from a Private Swiss Collection
PITT, Moses (bap. 1639-1697)
The English Atlas. Oxford: The Theatre, for Jansson in Amsterdam, 1680-1681-1682 [1683].
Details
PITT, Moses (bap. 1639-1697)
The English Atlas. Oxford: The Theatre, for Jansson in Amsterdam, 1680-1681-1682 [1683].
A wide-margined copy, including the rare plate of the Laplanders, and annotated in a contemporary hand in the first volume. Marginal corrections to K2, in the section of text on ‘Muscovy, or Russia,’ confirm that this annotator was a very early reader, who read the book in the year of its publication. (Here, the annotator notes that Tsar Alexei Michailovich has been succeeded by his son ‘Feodor [...] who reigns this prese[n]t year 1680’.) Other annotations include latitudes and longitudes of places described, as well as some rather fastidious observations about the accuracy of the text – for instance, noting the contradictory characterisation of the Polish people as ‘more given to sloth then gluttony or drunkenness’ (‘X a contradiction to what is said below’), on the one hand, and ‘alwaies... much given to drunkenness’ (‘X a contradiction to what is said above’), on the other hand.
The work comprises two world maps and a map of the North Pole, with the remaining sheets covering Northern and Eastern Europe, particularly Germany and the Low Countries, all based on Dutch cartography. Moses Pitt had planned to produce a twelve-volume atlas in the Blaeu-Janssonius traditon, however this project failed after only 4 volumes were published. He was imprisoned for debt and published The Cry of the Oppressed (1691) about the prison condition. This atlas was almost entirely compiled from old plates acquired from the plate stock of Joannes Janssonius. The two world maps are: J. van Loon's Orbis terrarum nova et accuratissima tabula [Shirley 439] and Pieter van den Keere's Nova totius terrarum orbis geographica ac hydrographica tabula in the revised Janssonius (post 1620) state [Shirley 504]. NMM 3, 410; Shirley, BL T.Pitt-1a.
4 volumes, large folio (588 x 380mm). Text with red ruled borders throughout, comprising:
Vol. I: engraved portrait of Charles II, title printed in red and black with engraved vignette, 45 hand-coloured engraved double-page maps, including the very rare plate of ‘The Manner of the Laplanders…’ (lacking engraved allegorical frontispiece to vol. I, the Laplanders plate re-inserted and with expertly repaired holes in upper image, short neat marginal repair in text leaf C2, some variable browning and spotting, maps slightly more heavily affected with some heavy acidic show-through affecting adjacent text leaves, resultant expertly repaired neat tears in about 19 maps [viz, 9, 10, 12, 14-16, 19-21, 24, 25, 24-28, 30, 34, 37, 39 and 43] , map 44 with very small marginal hole, a couple of leaves just protruding with consequent minor fraying and browning to extremities).
Vol. II: engraved portrait of Catherine of Braganza (consort of Charles II), engraved title, letterpress title in red and black, 45 hand-coloured engraved maps, all but one double-page, and 2 of which folding.
Vol. III: engraved portrait of Maria Beatrice of Modena (Duchess of York), letterpress title in red and black, 45 hand-coloured engraved maps, of which 2 folding.
Vol. IV: engraved title with engraved text overslip, letterpress title in red and black with engraved vignette, 41 hand-coloured engraved maps, all but one double-page.
18th-century diced russia, covers with gilt tramline border composed of an outer double rule sandwiching a thicker fillet with an inner dotted roll with small ovoid decoration with small rosettes at corners, flat spines gilt ruled into 8 compartments, gilt-lettered in second and fourth, marbled endpapers, gilt turn-ins and edges, green silk markers in vols. III and IV (some restoration to joints, corners, and spine ends, lightly furbished).
The English Atlas. Oxford: The Theatre, for Jansson in Amsterdam, 1680-1681-1682 [1683].
A wide-margined copy, including the rare plate of the Laplanders, and annotated in a contemporary hand in the first volume. Marginal corrections to K2, in the section of text on ‘Muscovy, or Russia,’ confirm that this annotator was a very early reader, who read the book in the year of its publication. (Here, the annotator notes that Tsar Alexei Michailovich has been succeeded by his son ‘Feodor [...] who reigns this prese[n]t year 1680’.) Other annotations include latitudes and longitudes of places described, as well as some rather fastidious observations about the accuracy of the text – for instance, noting the contradictory characterisation of the Polish people as ‘more given to sloth then gluttony or drunkenness’ (‘X a contradiction to what is said below’), on the one hand, and ‘alwaies... much given to drunkenness’ (‘X a contradiction to what is said above’), on the other hand.
The work comprises two world maps and a map of the North Pole, with the remaining sheets covering Northern and Eastern Europe, particularly Germany and the Low Countries, all based on Dutch cartography. Moses Pitt had planned to produce a twelve-volume atlas in the Blaeu-Janssonius traditon, however this project failed after only 4 volumes were published. He was imprisoned for debt and published The Cry of the Oppressed (1691) about the prison condition. This atlas was almost entirely compiled from old plates acquired from the plate stock of Joannes Janssonius. The two world maps are: J. van Loon's Orbis terrarum nova et accuratissima tabula [Shirley 439] and Pieter van den Keere's Nova totius terrarum orbis geographica ac hydrographica tabula in the revised Janssonius (post 1620) state [Shirley 504]. NMM 3, 410; Shirley, BL T.Pitt-1a.
4 volumes, large folio (588 x 380mm). Text with red ruled borders throughout, comprising:
Vol. I: engraved portrait of Charles II, title printed in red and black with engraved vignette, 45 hand-coloured engraved double-page maps, including the very rare plate of ‘The Manner of the Laplanders…’ (lacking engraved allegorical frontispiece to vol. I, the Laplanders plate re-inserted and with expertly repaired holes in upper image, short neat marginal repair in text leaf C2, some variable browning and spotting, maps slightly more heavily affected with some heavy acidic show-through affecting adjacent text leaves, resultant expertly repaired neat tears in about 19 maps [viz, 9, 10, 12, 14-16, 19-21, 24, 25, 24-28, 30, 34, 37, 39 and 43] , map 44 with very small marginal hole, a couple of leaves just protruding with consequent minor fraying and browning to extremities).
Vol. II: engraved portrait of Catherine of Braganza (consort of Charles II), engraved title, letterpress title in red and black, 45 hand-coloured engraved maps, all but one double-page, and 2 of which folding.
Vol. III: engraved portrait of Maria Beatrice of Modena (Duchess of York), letterpress title in red and black, 45 hand-coloured engraved maps, of which 2 folding.
Vol. IV: engraved title with engraved text overslip, letterpress title in red and black with engraved vignette, 41 hand-coloured engraved maps, all but one double-page.
18th-century diced russia, covers with gilt tramline border composed of an outer double rule sandwiching a thicker fillet with an inner dotted roll with small ovoid decoration with small rosettes at corners, flat spines gilt ruled into 8 compartments, gilt-lettered in second and fourth, marbled endpapers, gilt turn-ins and edges, green silk markers in vols. III and IV (some restoration to joints, corners, and spine ends, lightly furbished).
Brought to you by
Eugenio Donadoni
Senior Specialist, Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts