Catalog Archive
Auction 165, Lot 718

"Tractus Littorales Guineae a Promontorio Verde Usque ad Sinum Catenbelae", Wit, Frederick de

Subject: Western Africa

Period: 1680 (circa)

Publication:

Color: Hand Color

Size:
22.3 x 19.3 inches
56.6 x 49 cm
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This sea chart of the Coast of Guinea, a later issue of an original by Frederick de Wit, extends from modern-day Mauritania to Angola. To the north, the chart begins just beyond Cape Verde, includes the Gold, Ivory, and Grain Coasts, and continues to Catenbela Bay in the south. Three ships are shown in the sea below the coast, as well as two compass roses with rhumb lines. The cartouche is decorated with both European and native figures. In the foreground, two European men barter around a table, as one holds a scale. Three captives, referencing the slave trade, stand behind them. Above the title, a native woman and child sit in a hammock, observing the scene below.

References: cf. Norwich #253.

Condition: B+

Full original color with very light soiling, some extraneous creasing along the centerfold, and a small hole along the centerfold in the title cartouche. A centerfold separation that enters 1" into image at bottom has been closed on verso with hinge tape.

Estimate: $475 - $600

Sold for: $350

Closed on 11/15/2017

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