"Nova Persiae Armeniae Natoliae et Arabiae", Wit, Frederick de

This splendid map of the Middle East covers the region from Turkey and Egypt to Afghanistan with the Arabian peninsula prominently shown. The detail in Arabia is based on Sanson's map of 1654, one of the largest scaled and best detailed maps of the region until the mid-seventeenth century. The decorative title cartouche features several exotic figures, animals, and a merchant ship. A mapmaker works atop the scale of miles cartouche using dividers and other tools of the trade.

References: Ankary #77; Tibbetts #121.

Condition: B+

A crisp impression with contemporary outline color in the map and later color in the cartouches. There is light soiling, some tiny creases and tears along the bottom edge of the sheet, and remnants of hinge tape on verso. There are archival repairs to a centerfold separation at bottom, a short tear and small hole along the border at top left, and a short tear in the right blank margin.