Catalog Archive
Auction 122, Lot 53

"Regionum Circum Polarium Lapponiae Islandiae et Groenlandiae Novae et Veteris Nova Descriptio Geographica", Scherer, Heinrich

Subject: North Pole

Period: 1701 (dated)

Publication: Atlas Novua

Color: Hand Color

Size:
13.7 x 9.2 inches
34.8 x 23.4 cm
Download High Resolution Image
(or just click on image to launch the Zoom viewer)

This captivating map of the North Pole is a visual delight. The map itself presents typical cartography for the period, leaving open the possibility of both a Northeast and Northwest Passage to the Far East. The map is literally filled with skillfully engraved images of sea monsters, whaling, hunting and exploration. The title cartouche is placed on the hide of a polar bear displayed by two hunters and at right is a lively vignette of a Laplander market.

References:

Condition: A

A superb example with a faint trace of offsetting.

Estimate: $800 - $1,100

Sold for: $600

Closed on 12/5/2007

Archived