Beschreibung
Folio (19 4/8 x 13 4/8 inches). 24 fine engraved gores on 17 leaves, including an alternative for the last two southern hemisphere gores, to create a globe measuring 18 inches in diametre. Modern maroon calf backed red cloth. First published in 1696, and with alternative gores with the dedicatory cartouches dated 1696 and 1699 respectively, this is the issue included by Coronelli in the second edition of his spectacular "Libro dei Globi ." of 1699. "The Libro dei globi. is a memorial to the activities of the greatest globe-maker of all time. It recalls an age when globes were ornaments of palaces" (Wallis, p.xviii). These fine gores are highly accurate, highly detailed, and include the tracks of famous voyages, and decorated with images of native peoples, different kinds of ships, whales and scenes of hunting walruses, whales, and polar bears. As Royal Cartographer to King Louis XIV in the 1680s, mapmaker Vincenzo Coronelli gained special access to the most current records, and as Shirley reports "Coronelli seems to have sought to omit nothing that might be of interest to geographers, navigators and explorers. There are an unusual number of legends, all explanatory and informative, but which never crowd the space available. Many of the vignettes of ships and fishing scenes throughout the world are worthy of separate reproduction. Coronelli makes comments on all the most important explorations and discoveries and undoubtedly had access to the findings of the French Academy of Sciences. The most interesting feature of the gores is the recording of the recent French explorations in North America. The Mississippi is marked, following La Salle's journeys to its mouth in 1681-87, and the bordering territory is boldly marked 'La Louisiana'" (Shirley). All but the eastern coastline of Australia is depicted, and beneath the Bight is a fine and dramatic vignette of a whaling scene, the southern coastline of Tasmania is present, and the western coastline of New Zealand. Coronelli was both cleric and encyclopedist, with a particular interest in geography and cartography. He joined the Franciscan Order in Venice in 1665 and six years later entered the convent of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, which was to become his professional workshop. He was sole author or contributor to over one hundred and forty titles and produced several hundred maps, either printed separately or as parts of atlases. Coronelli published his groundbreaking cartographic work in a number of notable publications, including the "Atlante Veneto" (1691-1692), the "Corso Geografico Universale" (1692 & 1695) and the "Isolario" (1696-1697). Most of his globe gores were obviously meant to be assembled into spherical form and sold as complete globes, though a very few examples, including these, were kept aside to be published in sheet form in Coronelli's exceptionally rare "Libro dei Globi". After he completed his service for Louis XIV, Coronelli returned to Venice in 1684 and founded the "Accademia Cosmografica degli Argonauti," a geographical society with membership drawn from the aristocracy and church hierarchy, and a year later he was appointed Cosmographer to the Republic of Venice. With a secure financial base provided by the society, Coronelli could ensure that his maps would be widely dispersed across Europe. At the end of the seventeenth century, he was perhaps the most famous map publisher in Europe and received constant requests from his contemporaries for information that would enable them to bring their atlases up to date. Shortly after his death, however, his name and work were quickly forgotten, and he remained in obscurity for several centuries. The lasting influence of his work is undeniable, however, and modern appreciation has more than compensated for the earlier lack of recognition. Shirley 537. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 72map34
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