Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1745
Sheet size
20 × 23 cm (7.9 × 9.1 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-09392
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
Age-related toning. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
South America as drawn for an English geography text, titled "South America according to the latest Observations", an original copper engraving published by P. Gordon in London around 1745. It was prepared for Geography Anatomiz'd, or the Geographical Grammar, and is uncolored.
The continent is drawn on a distorted graticule, so that the coastlines lean against the curved meridians and the parallels sweep across the sheet. The Pacific is lettered "The Pacific or Great South Sea" and the Atlantic "The Western Ocean". The interior is labeled in large capitals as Terra Firma, Guiana, the Country of the Amazons, Brazil, Chili, Paraguay and "Terra Magellanica", with the Tierra del Fuego islands at the southern tip. Rivers and mountain chains are drawn, and the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn are marked. A part of Africa appears at the upper right. The title is set in a small framed block at the lower right, with a page reference printed beside it.
The map reflects mid-eighteenth century knowledge of the continent, with the interior still thinly known.
