Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1642
Sheet size
50 × 59 cm (19.7 × 23.2 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
HP-087
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 condition for its age. Original central fold as issued. Light overall toning consistent with age. Minor wear and some faint staining, mainly in the margins. Edges slightly irregular. Colors remain strong and attractive.
About this sheet
The northern coast of South America, a map titled "Venezuela, cum parte Australi Novae Andalusiae", published by Willem and Joan Blaeu in Amsterdam around 1642 in their atlas Toonneel des Aerdrycx. It is an original copper engraving with hand color.
The map runs from the Gulf of Maracaibo at the left to Trinidad and the Gulf of Paria at the right, with the coast and the islands of the southern Caribbean arranged across the top in outline, among them Margarita and the Leeward islands. The mainland is shown in pictorial mountains, rivers and place names, and the provinces of Venezuela and Nueva Andalusia are named across the interior. Indian peoples are marked in the inland regions, and a bison-like animal appears in the south-west.
Two compass roses with rhumb lines stand in the Caribbean, which is lettered "Mar del Norte", and a ship sails among the islands. The title is set in a cartouche flanked by cherubs at the top, and a second cartouche at the lower right carries the scale and the Amsterdam imprint "Guiljelmus Blaeuw excudit".
