AMERICUS VESPUTIUS. (AMERIGO VESPUCCI)
John Ogilby
Artist's BiographyAmericus Vesputius. (Amerigo Vespucci)
Copper plate engraving 1671
10 15/16 x 6 1/2"( 279 x 167 mm) plus wide margins.
Good condition. Black & White LOCATION: New York City
Inventory Number: 33377
Price: $195.00 Publisher : Published by Ogilby, White Fryers, London. This is a splendid portrait of Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer after which America was named. As with other portraits in the atlas, Vespucci is depicted surrounded by the tools of the explorer. Amidst an ornate border, Vespucci calculates a distance in a large atlas. A compass and globe rest on the table beside him, and a large globe filled with the constellations appears above his head. This portrait appeared in John Ogilby’s seminal atlas "America: Being the Latest, and Most Accurate Description of the New World, published in London in 1671. Ogilby’s work is an English translation of Arnoldus Montanus’ Die Nieuwe en onbekende Weereld, . . .'' which was produced in Amsterdam earlier the same year. Considered the first encyclopedias of the Americas, both texts are richly illustrated with maps, views and portraits. With little exception, Ogilby’s work is a direct copy of Montanus’ atlas. Ogilby did expand his atlas by adding fresh material on the English colonies. Illustrated with over 122 magnificent engravings, Ogilby’s America was the most accurate compendium available of the New World. 18th-19th Century Subjects , Portraits , Famous People
