Catalog Archive
Auction 162, Lot 380

"Particularitez Curieuses de l'Ile de St. Christophle et de la Province de Bemarin dans les Antilles", Chatelain, Henry Abraham

Subject: St. Kitts

Period: 1720 (circa)

Publication: Atlas Historique…

Color: Black & White

Size:
19.1 x 14.8 inches
48.5 x 37.6 cm
Download High Resolution Image
(or just click on image to launch the Zoom viewer)

This sheet presents several views of St. Kitts and the native fauna. The view at upper left shows the Governor-General's palace - complete with elaborate formal French gardens. The view at center shows the natives welcoming the French and preparing a feast. The view at right depicts Melilot, the mythical capital of Apalache. This idealized view was taken from Charles de Rochefort's view first published in his Histoire naturelle et morale des iles Antilles de l'Amerique [1658]. The Apalache were purported to have a utopian kingdom in Georgia and Florida, and to have been the ancestors of the Carib peoples. As Melilot was not found in North America, here it has been transferred to St. Kitts. The views at bottom shows a variety of native fauna.

References:

Condition: A

A dark impression, issued folding on paper with a Strasbourg Lily watermark, light printer's ink residue, and a tiny centerfold separation in the bottom blank margin.

Estimate: $110 - $140

Sold for: $130

Closed on 4/26/2017

Archived