Old German Map of Northern America with Attractive Hand Coloring, 1864

€ 360

Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)

Date: 1864
Technique: Engraved
Sheet size: 36 × 45.5 cm (14.2 × 17.9 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-13190-8

What the condition grades mean

Excellent: Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good: Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good: Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair: Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.

Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.

Condition

Very good. Light wear or browning but outside the image and plate. Blank on verso. Folding line in the middle as published.

About this sheet

North America in a German map titled "Nord-America", drawn and engraved by F. von Stulpnagel and published in Gotha by Justus Perthes, in a bold hand-colored finish. The imprint at the foot reads "Gotha: Justus Perthes 1845", and the sheet carries a series number in the upper right corner, with a date of 1864 in the listing.

The map covers the whole continent, from Greenland and the Hudson Bay region of British America across the United States to Mexico, Central America and the northern edge of South America. The northwest corner is tinted in green, the British territories in the north in pink, and the United States in bold borders with each state separately outlined in a different color. The Gulf of Mexico and the islands of the West Indies are named in German as "West-Indien", with the oceans lettered as "Grosser Ocean" and "Atlantischer Ocean". A numbered key at the right lists the New England states, and a color key at the lower right explains the European colonial holdings.

The sheet is about 12 by 15 inches, and the Perthes house at Gotha, known for the fine engraving of its atlases, made the map a well-regarded German view of the continent in the mid-nineteenth century.