New Amsterdam to Metropolis – Important Maps of New York City 1548 – 1964 at Martayan Lan
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Martayan Lan, the New York City rare book and map dealer and ABAA member, has announced the opening of an exhibition of New York maps issued over the past four hundred years. The event now underway, will continue to May 31st, 2019 at the firm’s headquarters in the Heron Tower at 70 East 55th Street.
The exhibition opens with a cartographic glimpse of New York, Tierra Nueva, that was printed in Venice in 1548. Next is a map of Norumbega Et Virginia by Wytfliet in 1597. Norumbega you ask? If you visit this exhibition you are there. Third is a Blaeu map of Nova Belgica Et Anglia Nova dated 1635 that shows Manhattan as a triangle. For those approaching New York by boat Martayan Lan’s next offer is “The first printed sea chart of New England and New Netherlands.” The work of R. Dudley and printed in Florence in the mid-17th century, this is a major rarity.
The fifth example is by Danckerts and Visscher. It’s Novi Belgi Novaeque Angiae, dated circa 1690, in original color. Next [No. 6] is Lotter and Jansson-Visscher’s Recens Edita totius Novi Belgii. It was printed at Augsburg, circa 1757 and adds increasing detail to maps of New York and its environs. At No. 7, Van Keulen’s map reflects the increasing need for accurate sea charts, aiding navigation by clarifying distances and landmarks.
No. 8 is a gem; “A South West View of the City of New York.” This image gives us the artist’s understanding of what New York City looked like circa 1730. As would inevitably happen, after discovery, exploration and then habitation, a plan for the New York settlement would be needed and No. 9 is the second iteration of such a plan. No. 10, by Montresor, is also a plan of the city. It’s dated 1775 when the British were first encountering colonial resistance.
No. 11 is Faden’s 1776 plan of New York Island and surrounding areas, with details of an early Revolutionary War battle at Woody Heights on Long Island. It’s a good thing that one battle does not necessarily make a war because, if it had, we in America, would be British subjects still.
No. 12 is De Barres’ 1777 “Sketch of the Operations of his Majesty’s Fleet and Army…” which was part of the navigational atlas used by the British during the war.
No. 13 begins to show us a New York City we can recognize. It’s a rejected first plan [1807] for the City’s streets. No. 14 is Randel’s 1821 blueprint [on silk] of a map of New York. Maps on cloth are a very special niche. No. 15 is a map reflecting the gathering detail of New York. It’s by Poppleton and Hooker and, as was No. 14, on silk.
No. 16 is Burr’s 1839 map of the city of New York. No. 17 is a panorama of Manhattan that dates to 1854. No. 18 is the work of Magnus and dated 1852 that shows in detail the development of New York, Brooklyn and Williamsburg. No. 19 is Bartlett’s illustrated map of New York City [1870]. It shows some buildings and provides details that can otherwise be difficult to find.
No 20 is Viele’s Sanitary & Topological Map of the City and Island of New York. It dates to 1865 and shows the gathering need to understand the flow of water under Manhattan. No. 21 is another bird’s eye view. This one is the work of Heine and Dopler in 1851. It will attract attention.
No. 22 is Hyde & Co.’s [Brooklyn, 1898] Map of the City of New York. It is the first to reflect New York City as the consolidation of the five boroughs. No. 23 is the Wanamaker Vest Pocket Subway Guide. Dated 1904, it shows the nascent subway system.
No set of New York maps would be complete without something from Rand McNally. This version, No. 24,, dated 1909, captures the subway routes in high detail. And now, the last example. It’s by Bollman and dated 1963. It portrays New York in 3-D.
All in all, a wonderful tour of the city that is now world renowned.
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Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
Sotheby's Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
Fonsie Mealy’s Rare Books & Collectors’ Sale April 30th & May 1st
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Taylor (Geo.) & Skinner (A.) Maps of the Roads of Ireland, Surveyed 1777. Lond. & Dublin 1778. €500 to €750.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Messingham (Thos.) Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum seu Vitae et Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, Paris 1624. €350 to €500.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus). The Haw Lantern, L. (Faber & Faber) 1987, First Edn., Signed and dated. €225 to €350.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Valencey (Lt. Col. Chas.) Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Vols. I-IV, 4 vols. Dublin 1786. €400 to €600.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Powerscourt (Viscount). A Description and History of Powerscourt, Lond. 1903. €350 to €500.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Moryson (Fynes). An Itinerary ... Containing His Ten Yeeres Travel Through the Twelve Dominions of Germany, Bohermerland, Sweitzerland…, Lond. (John Beale) 1617. €700 to €1,000.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: After Buffon, Birds of Europe, c. 1820. Approx. 120 fine hd. cold. plts., mor. backed boards. €125 to €250.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Dunlevy (Andrew). An Teagasg Criosduidhe De Reir Ceasda agus Freagartha... The Catechism or Christian Doctrine by Way of Question and Answer, Paris (James Guerin) 1742. €400 to €700.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1:The Georgian Society Records of Eighteen-Century Domestic Architecture in Dublin, 5 vols. Complete, Dublin 1909-1913. €500 to €750.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Scale (Bernard). An Hibernian Atlas or General Description of the Kingdom of Ireland, L. (Robert Sayer & John Bennet) 1776. €625 to €850.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: [Johnson (Rev. Samuel)]. Julian the Apostate Being a Short Account of his Life, together with a Comparison of Popery and Paganism,L. (Langley Curtis) 1682. €300 to €400.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Nichlson (Wm.) Illustrator. An Almanac of Twelve Sports, Lond. 1898. €300 to €400.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) trans. The Light of the Leaves, 2 vols., Mexico (Imprenta de los Tropicos/Bunholt) 1999. €1,500 to €2,000.
Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Fleming (Ian). Moonraker, L. (Jonathan Cape) 1955. €1,500 to €2,000.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN'S EXTREMELY RARE FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT. "Scene af: Røverne i Vissenberg i Fyen." in Harpen, 1822.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST ISSUE OF THE FIRST THREE FAIRY TALE PAMPHLETS, WITH ALL INDICES AND TITLE PAGES. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: THE FIRST FAIRY TALES WITH A SIGNED CARTE DE VISITE OF ANDERSEN AS FRONTIS. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: KARL LAGERFELD. Original pastel and ink drawing in gold, red and black for Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes (1992), "La cassette de l'Empereur."
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY OF THE SIXTH PAMPHLET FOR PETER KOCH. Eventyr, Fortalte For Børn, Second Series, Third Pamphlet. 1841. Publisher's wrappers, complete with all pre- and post-matter.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN RARE AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED IN ENGLISH from "The Ugly Duckling," c.1860s.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HEINRICH LEFLER, ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR FOR ANDERSEN'S SNOW QUEEN, "Die Schneekönigin," 1910.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST EDITION OF ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES IN ENGLISH. Wonderful Stories for Children. London, 1846.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN ON MEETING CHARLES DICKENS. Autograph Letter Signed ("H.C. Andersen") in English to William Jerdan, July 20, 1847.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR EDGAR COLLIN. Nye Eventyr og Historier. Anden Raekke. 1861.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: DOLL HOUSE FURNITURE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, DECORATED WITH FANTASTICAL CUT-OUTS, for the children of Jonna Stampe (née Drewsen), his godchildren.
Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR GEORG BRANDES. Dryaden. Et Eventyr fra Udstillingstiden i Paris 1867. 1868.