One of the Earliest Views of New York City

"Novum Amsterodamum", Montanus, Arnoldus

Montanus' work was perhaps the greatest illustrated book on the New World produced in the seventeenth century. It contained over one hundred beautifully engraved plates, views, and maps of North and South America. The plates vividly depict forts, festivals, occupations, Dutch fleets, battles, religious rites, and customs of the native inhabitants. This important work was translated into German by Olivier Dapper, and into English by John Ogilby. Several of the plates were later acquired by Pierre Vander Aa.

This view shows the small Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam, located on the southern tip of Manhattan. The Dutch first settled in the area in 1626 after purchasing the island from the Indians for $24. This view is thought to be engraved from an original drawing by Laurens Hermansz Block, a Dutch artist who visited New York in 1650 aboard the merchant vessel Lydia. Viewed from the harbor, it depicts the settlement with a few wooden buildings, a large church and a windmill. In 1664 New Amsterdam was captured by the British and renamed New York, in honor of James, the Duke of York. On a full sheet of German text (7.3 x 12.2").

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Condition: A

A dark impression on a clean sheet.