Catalog Archive
Auction 120, Lot 422

"South America Corrected from the Observations Communicated to the Royal Society's of London & Paris", Senex, John

Subject: South America

Period: 1710 (circa)

Publication:

Color: Hand Color

Size:
25.5 x 38 inches
64.8 x 96.5 cm
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Huge, fantastic map of the continent printed on two joined sheets. The map provides good detail of topography and explorations. The interior is filled with notes, such as this one in the Amazon basin: Mutuanis who are said to be giants Rich in Gold inhabiting 2 months Journey from the mouth of the River. The coastal areas are filled with notes on anchorages and approaches and a multitude of place names with astounding detail. The phantom Pepys Island is noted noted just above the Falkland Sound. The Falkland Islands are incompletely mapped. The routes of explorers are noted, including Halley, de la Roche, Magellan, Vespucci and Sarmiento. The cartouche is decorated with a fearsome Amazonian woman with a head at her feet, a huge iguana and cannibals cheerfully cooking and eating their prey. The map is dedicated to Sir Edmund Halley.

References:

Condition: A

Original color with some marginal toning and a couple of short tears, not affecting the map.

Estimate: $800 - $1,200

Sold for: $750

Closed on 7/18/2007

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