Catalog Archive
Auction 175, Lot 637

"[Lot of 2] Charte von der Insel Pitcairn [and] Carte Particuliere de l'Isle de Juan Fernandes Tiree du Voyage de l'Amiral Anson",

Subject: Pitcairn Island, Juan Fernandez Island

Period: 1755-75 (circa)

Publication:

Color: Black & White

Size:
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This lot features two maps of famous literary islands in the southern Pacific Ocean:

A. Charte von der Insel Pitcairn, by C.B. Glassbach, circa 1775 (9.7 x 6.9"). A small map of the rocky island with four shipboard views below. Pitcairn Island was discovered by Admiral Carteret and named for Robert Pitcairn, the midshipman that first sighted the island in 1767. One of the most romantic tales of the Pacific centers on the remote Pitcairn Island, located southeast of the Tuamotu Archipelago. In 1790 nine mutineers from the British ship Bounty, accompanied by 18 Polynesians, sought refuge on the island and remained hidden until the small colony was discovered in 1808. From the German edition of Hawkesworth's An Account of the Voyages.

B. Carte Particuliere de l'Isle de Juan Fernandes Tiree du Voyage de l'Amiral Anson, by Jacques Nicolas Bellin, circa 1755 (10.9 x 7.6"). Small map of the Chilean Juan Fernandez Island, topped by a view of its rocky profile and adorned with a decorative title cartouche and a compass rose with fleur-de-lys. The map was based on Admiral George Anson's voyage in 1740, when he set sail in command of a squadron sent to attack Spanish possessions and interests in South America. The expedition was ill-equipped and failed to carry out its original ambitious mission. By June 1741 when Anson reached Juan Fernandes, his force had been reduced to only three of the original six ships, while the strength of his crews had fallen from 961 to 335. After launching several attacks on the west coast of South America and recuperating on the island, he collected the remaining survivors on his flagship, the Centurion, and set sail in search of one of the richly laden galleons that conducted the trade between Mexico and the Philippines. The indomitable perseverance he had shown during one of the most arduous voyages the history of sea adventure gained the reward of the capture of an immensely rich prize, the Nuestra Senora de Covadonga, which he encountered off Cape Espiritu Santo on June 20, 1743. Juan Fernandes Island was later made famous by Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe as the island upon which he was marooned.

References:

Condition: A

Dark impressions on watermarked paper, issued folding.

Estimate: $200 - $230

Sold for: $120

Closed on 11/13/2019

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