The Old Print Shop

Porto Rico (San Juan, Puerto Rico).

  • ARTIST: John Ogilby

  • MEDIUM: Copper plate engraving.

    DATE: 1671

  • EDITION SIZE: 11 1/8 x 13 1/2" (28.2 x 34.3 cm) plus wide margins.

  • DESCRIPTION: This impressive view shows the fortress and harbor of San Juan in Puerto Rico. A number of large galleons are anchored in the in the calm waters and a long boat filled with Spanish merchants makes it way to the beaches. Founded in 1521, the town is located on the northeastern coast of the island. Is was originally named, Porto Rico, meaning rich port, but later traded names with the island and became known as San Juan. On the periphery of Spain’s empire in the New World, San Juan was used as a military stronghold to protect the Spanish trade routes. A massive wall and a large fort was built around the city to protect it from maurading pirates and European enemies. This map 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.

  • ADDITIONAL INFO:

  • CONDITION: Good condition save for a soft crease in lower left corner.

  • REFERENCE:

  • CATEGORIES: Maps