Sea Chart of Central America and the Northwest Coast of South America, ca.1745
€ 2 450
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1745
Sheet size
55 × 66 cm (21.7 × 26.0 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
PCT-59810
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
Given age. Minor paper separation top and bottom middle fold. Some crinkles and creases. Edges with an occasional tiny tear. A few minor spots. Original middle fold as issued. General age-related toning. Minor defects from handling.
About this sheet
Novae Hispaniae, Chili, Peruviae et Guatimalae Littorae, an original engraved sea chart of the Pacific coast of Spanish America by Reinier and Joshua Ottens after Frederick de Wit (1675), from the Atlas van de Zeevaart, c.1745. The title is set in a figured cartouche at lower right, and the sheet is finished with hand color.
The chart is turned so that east lies at the top, which puts the coast along the left and upper edges. It shows stretches of the coasts of Mexico (Nova Hispania), Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras, together with the Peruvian coast and part of Chili, and the western Caribbean at the left edge, with the Galapagos Islands among the sea details. A network of rhumb lines radiates from compass roses across the Mare Pacificum and the Mar del Sur, and several sailing ships are placed on the ocean. The cartouche has a flag-bearing group of soldiers, a cross, and putti with a coastal landscape.
Reinier and Joshua Ottens (both 1704 to 1765) were Amsterdam publishers, cartographers and engravers who carried on the business founded by their father Joachim.
