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Surprise and Delight with a gift.

Have you considered the ultimate gift for your friend or associate? One that will continue to intrigue and provide entertainment as it is shared with others over the years? A well-chosen gift can instill a passion in a new subject – and temporarily erase any worries of work or home. The ultimate gift can inspire enthusiasm where there might be concerns for what may lie ahead, after retirement perhaps from a vocation that has absorbed years of commitment and hard work? (That’s “vocation” not “vacation”!)

Cartography – literally, the drawing of maps and charts – often combined the theories of mathematics, geography, astronomy and philosophy. Frequently “theory” was the operative word – particularly in maps of regions recently discovered. In Australia we are fortunate to be a relatively “young” country, in that our coastline was not completely charted until around 220 years ago. There is therefore greater potential for interesting maps – of Terra Australis Incognita (Unknown Land of the South) or New Holland, as it was previously known. The Australian coastlines on early maps vary – particularly with regards to the theoretical outline of the east coast prior to Captain Cook. The internal geography and state borders are often inaccurate - either guessed or proposed. And some earlier maps indicate fanciful wildlife in the earliest charted coastlines of the region.

In 1664 the first map appeared showing Australia by itself, and not as part of Asia or with the rest of the world. It was produced by the French traveller and author of books on early voyages of discovery, Melchisedech Thevenot, and showed Australia as Terre Australe decouverte l’an 1644 (Southern Land discovered in 1644). (Thevenot’s map of Australia copied the one published in Amsterdam by Joan Blaeu in 1659.) The English edition of Thevenot’s map was published in 1744 by Emanuel Bowen, and includes in the gap provided by the uncharted east coast of Australia a wonderful narrative of the exploration of the day. On it he writes “It is impossible to conceive a Country that promises fairer from its Situation, than this of Terra Australis; no longer incognita as this Map demonstrates, but the Southern Continent Discovered”. This great map is very rarely seen as an original copperplate engraving published in 1744, but it’s still a great presentation piece as a framed Limited Edition (available from Art-Emporium.com in Brisbane).

The most spectacular maps ever produced incorporated the skill of artistic presentation with the scientific knowledge to be shown. No work has ever combined art and science as beautifully as the sixteenth and seventeenth century maps created for presentation to the benefactor of a voyage or the research the map’s publication celebrated. They were decorated with hand-coloured borders, engraved “vignettes” or small views, and embellished by elaborate cartouches, often within a coat of arms to highlight the title pieces that usually mentioned their patrons. Mapmakers were patronized by the landed families of Europe, and saw the importance of proclaiming their employers’ glory at home and their potential wealth abroad. The use of heraldic devices was commonplace, emphasizing the financial support of these monarchs, nobles and gentry.

The most magnificent maps were produced to appeal to the courts of Europe to encourage further support. Today, these magnificent, expensive, decorative maps are often the first image that comes to mind when antique maps are mentioned. These maps, most notably those of the world, typically showed Old World and New World spheres – that is, Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Above and below, between and sometimes within these circles, appeared the title piece or cartouche, incorporating a coat of arms, deities and mythical beasts, cherubs, scrolls and vines. Decorative borders around the landmasses included important philosophers, astronomers and cartographers, and newly discovered peoples with strange flora and fauna. The astrological and polar projections of the world, besides being informative, were often included to add to the decorative appeal.
What other presentation piece could equally impress, or even equal the impact, of one of these superb antique maps, beautifully framed. Naturally, as with anything of value, to preserve such an old treasure, conservation framing should be compulsory! The investment in the purchase and framing of an antique map for presentation, by a Company or group of individuals, increases rather than lessens the map’s importance to the recipient.

The antique maps that have survived today bring with them the history prior to the era of their publication. The earlier maps that were engraved and published to spread the word about the geography of the world, were often in Latin. This prospect should fascinate rather than frighten, for Introductionis in Universam Geographicam can be expected to be the Introduction to Universal (World) Geography. The Latin names throughout these earlier maps provide hours of absorption for the observer today, particularly those of the ancient or “antiqua” lands. This series of maps were by Philippi Cluverii (known today by us English-speakers as Philipp Cluver). So revered were these wonderful maps that although they first appeared in 1624, they were re-issued over more than a hundred years.

In 1711, enlarged editions of Cluver’s maps, each with a decorative cartouche, were engraved by John Senex, who was one of the most important mapmakers in Britain between 1700 and 1740. When the area depicted is of particular interest, these maps have even more relativity as a presentation piece. Whilst miniature maps are often chosen as a gift to ensure their size is not an embarrassment, the enlarged engravings of these maps are still only around 40cm (a little over a foot) in height and width, even when framed.

Although any small early double sphere maps will be always more popular and in demand worldwide, in the “small is beautiful” category, few maps surpass those from the beginning of the seventeenth century (circa 1614) by the Dutchman Petrus Bertius. The period was one of great discovery around the world, and this is reflected in the unusual shapes of the less known parts – often merely conjectured.

Another series of small but very interesting copperplate-engravings, circa 1683, were those published by Alain Manesson Mallet for the first “modern” book of geography, his Description de l’Universe (Description of the Universe). Mallet began his career as a foot soldier in the French army, rose in rank to sergeant-major of artillery and then became inspector of fortifications. Upon leaving the military he secured a position teaching mathematics and geometry at the court of Louis XIV and wrote several books. Les Travaux de Mars (better known as The Art of War in recognition of his wonderful illustrations) has some of the most illuminating illustrations and maps, dealing with engineering, science, and the philosophies of that time.

As with all early printmaking, the skill of the cartographer, draughtsman, or person who draw the map is combined with the skill of the engraver. In many cases this was the same person. The more interesting of the antique maps are probably those that were not so skillfully done! When the engraver, offering his services to a new publishing company, brought with him, from memory(!), the latest discoveries his previous employer had ascertained, the ensuing result left much to be desired. Other maps that excelled in their portrayal of anomalies through the theoretical supposition of the cartographer, or simply the artifice of an expedition’s leader who would have preferred to proceed to his own more lucrative destination, will provide amusement for years to come. Go ahead. Make that presentation gift a reward for a lifetime.