Facies Una Hemisphaerii Terrestris [and] Facies Altera Hemisphaerii Terrestris

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  SKU: 102461

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• ARTIST: Johannes Zahn

• MEDIUM: Copper plate engravings,

  DATE: 1696.

• EDITION SIZE: Image size, each 14 x 16 1/4" (35.5 x 41.2 cm).

• DESCRIPTION: A scarce pair of hemisphere maps on two separate sheets, each topped with the signs of the Zodiac. California is shown as an Island on the Briggs model, with a flat northern coastline. The Strait of Anian is shown, hinting at a Northwest Passage. There is a single, large, open-ended Great Lake. Partial coastlines for Australia and New Zealand, and numerous islands appear in the Pacific. The Southern Hemisphere reflects the explorations of the Dutch, most notably the partial coastlines for Australia and New Zealand, as first depicted by Abel Tasman in the 1640s.<br><br> The surrounding decorations are presented in a unique manner, a broad zodiacal band at the top of each hemisphere, and the lower corners each filled with graceful female representations of the four seasons and cherubs representing the four elements.<br><br> Both of these maps were drawn and engraved by the German Enlightenment era polymath Johann Zahn for his pseudo-scientific opus Mundus Mirabili, or the “Marvelous World.”<br><br> An attractive pair. of maps.

• ADDITIONAL INFO:

• CONDITION: Good condition.

• REFERENCE:

• CATEGORIES: Maps