"Nieuwe Kaarte van 't Koninckryk Bengale, door Last van den Ed. Heer Mattheus…", Valentyn, Francois

The Kingdom of Bengal is minutely illustrated on this fine map. It shows the Ganges Delta with its important farming districts, cities, and roads and shows the locations of several Dutch forts. Francois Valentyn was an important historian of the Dutch East India Company [V.O.C]. In the preparation of his Oud en Nieuw Oost Indien Valentyn was given access to the secret V.O.C. archives, which enabled him to include previously unavailable information on important earlier Dutch voyages. The map is based on the work of Johan van Leenen who made the first accurate survey of the eastern Bengal delta in 1666. It was drawn and engraved by Jan van Braam and Gerard onder de Linden.

References: Shirley (BL Atlases) G.VALN-1a #45.

Condition: A

Issued folding and now flattened with excellent impression and color and very minor printer's ink residue.