Antique Print of Inhabitants of Sombrero by Van der Aa (1725)

Description: Plate: 'Habitans de Sombrero et habits de leurs Pretres'. (Inhabitants of Sombrero and the costume of their priests.) Sombrero point, part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.

This plate originates from the very scarse: 'La galerie agreable du monde. Tome premier des Indes Orientales.', published by P. van der Aa, Leyden, c. 1725. This famous work was published in 66 parts and is the biggest print / map book ever published. Van der Aa incorporated plates by other publishers such as Blaeu, Visscher, de Wit, meurs, Halma, Mortier, Allard in this work and often added broad decorative borders. Probably the costliest and complete universal geographic work ever produced. It is said that only 100 copies were printed. Ref: Koeman Aa9; Phillips 2780 note.

Artists and Engravers: Pieter van der Aa (Leiden 1659-1733) was a Dutch publisher best known for preparing maps and atlases. The Galerie Agreable contains plates and maps by the best Dutch engravers: Luiken, Goeree, Mulder, Stoopendaal, ao.