Antique Map of South America by Reichard, 1820

€ 87

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

Date: 1820
Mapmaker / artist: Thomas Kitchin
Sheet size: 37.5 × 32 cm (14.8 × 12.6 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-09456

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

South America in 1820, titled "Süd America von C.G. Reichard, 1820", an original copper engraving with hand outline color by the German mapmaker Christian Gottlieb Reichard. The title is set in an engraved scroll at the upper right, and the sheet carries a plate number at the top.

The continent is drawn with its states and colonial divisions outlined in yellow and pale green, with the Caribbean at the top, the large interior of Brazil in the center, and Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip. The coasts are crowded with place names, and rivers and mountain ranges run through the interior. A large inset at the lower right, "Gegend der Spanisch-Französischen Gradmessung", shows the region of the Spanish and French meridian arc measurement near Quito, with the mountains and the baseline at a larger scale.

The inset is the main distinguishing feature of the sheet. It refers to the eighteenth century expedition that measured a degree of the meridian at the equator, whose survey work was still of interest to German geographers in 1820.