Antique Map South America, Levasseur, Decorative Original Hand Colored, c.1845
€ 790
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1845
Sheet size
36.7 × 51 cm (14.4 × 20.1 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14277-1
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
Good antique condition with age toning and light foxing. Margins generally well preserved. The engraving is sharp and the original hand coloring remains clear and attractive.
About this sheet
South America in a decorative French atlas map, titled "Amérique Méridionale" and published in Paris around 1845 in the Atlas Universel Illustré of Victor Levasseur. It is an original steel engraving with the continent in hand-colored outline.
The central map shows the continent with its states in separate colors: Brazil (still an empire at this date) in pink, with Colombia, Peru, Chile, the La Plata region and Patagonia in their own tints, and the Guianas along the northern coast. The map is surrounded by engraved scenes in the manner of the Levasseur series. At the left a rider on a galloping horse crosses a mountain landscape beside a pine grove; at the right a palm tree rises over a jaguar, a reptile at the water's edge and a group of figures in native dress; reclining figures appear above the map. At the lower left a table headed "Tableau des États de l'Amérique Méridionale" lists the nations with their populations and capitals, beside a standing classical figure.
The border designs of the atlas are credited to Raymond Bonheur and the engraving to Auguste Laguillermie. The small print beneath the map gives a short geographical text, and the sheet carries the Paris imprint of the series.
