Print Description
This handcoloured print shows the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey, Armenia, Persia and part of Saudi Arabia, intended to illustrate the travels of John Newberry. In February 1583, Newberry, along with Ralph Fitch, John Eldred, William Leedes, and James Story, embarked in the Tiger and reached Syria in late April. From Aleppo (Syria), they went overland to the Euphrates, which they descended to Al-Fallujah, now in Iraq, and from there crossed over to Baghdad. Newberry died on the return trip.
Made by an anonymous engraver after Pieter van der Aa.
Medium: Engraving / etching on hand laid (verge) paper.
Sheet size: 35 x 16.7 cm (13.78 x 6.57 inch). Image size: 23.5 x 16 cm. (9.25 x 6.3 inch).
Condition: good, given age. Fold as published. Brownish upper margin. Wide right margin with print. Minor paperloss in upper margin. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study scan carefully.
MAP-TURKEY-EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN-ARMENIA-PERSIA-SAUDI ARABIA-TRAVEL-JOHN NEWBERRY | RBOS-A9-31
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This attractive print was published by Pieter van der Aa (1659 – 1733). .
Biography artist: The publisher was Pieter van der Aa (1659 – 1733). A Dutch publisher of maps and atlases active in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Van der Aa was born in Leyden in 1659. At nine, he was apprenticed to a local bookseller and, by 21, had established his own publishing, printing, and auctioneering house. In 1692, Van der Aa was appointed to be one of the High Commissioners of the Booksellers Guild. During his long and impressive career Van der Aa produced thousands of maps, including a vast 28-volume atlas containing no less than 3,000 maps. Few of Van der Aa’s maps were original productions, most being copied from the work of earlier cartographers. Nonetheless, when one of Van der Aa’s rare original pieces does appear, his style, with unusual projections, elegant engraving, and precise detail, is instantly recognizable and highly desirable. He also pioneered the cartographic idea of separating border artwork from the map plate itself such that every map in a collection could have a similar elaborate border without actually having to re-engrave the complex plates. This technique was used to great effect by later 18th century publishers like Brion de la Tour. Following Van der Aa’s death in 1733, his much admired Nouvel Atlas was reissued by the Dutch firm of Covens & Mortier. Today Van der Aa’s work is admired for its fine, delicate engraving and unusual projections and is considered highly desirable among collectors.
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