Striking Antique Map of Cayenne in French Guyana, South America, ca.1760

€ 1 350

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

Date: 1760
Sheet size: 40 × 44.7 cm (15.7 × 17.6 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: PCT-58779

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.

About this sheet

Land-kaart van het Eiland en de Volkplanting van Cayenne aan de Kust van Zuid-Amerika, an original antique map of the French colony of Cayenne in Guiana, published in Amsterdam by Isaak Tirion around 1760. The engraved sheet is hand colored, with the title set in a rococo cartouche at the lower left.

The island of Cayenne lies at the center, shown as "Eiland Cayenne" and wedged between rivers and creeks, with plantations, sugar works and rivers marked by symbols explained in a key headed "Aanwyzing" at the lower right. The map runs from the Kourou River in the west toward the Cawe and Oyapock country in the east. The coast is lettered "De Oceaan," and the interior is marked with swamps and "Hoog Land." A large inset in the upper right, "Platte Grond van de Stad en 't Kasteel van Cayenne," gives the plan of the town and its fortifications in red and yellow, with fort Ceperou at the headland.

Cayenne was the main French settlement on the Guiana coast, and the inset plan shows a small, fortified town with its parade ground and gridded streets.