Maps--The Islamic world

A MAGNIFICENT COLLECTION OF NEARLY ALL THE MAJOR EUROPEAN PRINTED MAPS OF THE REGION, COVERING FIVE CENTURIES OF CARTOGRAPHY. The collection has been assembled over twenty years by Gerhard Lerchbaumer, a minister at the permanent representation of Austria to the EU in Brussels, and is one of the most extensive in private hands, and includes some of the greatest names in the history of western printed cartography.

The earliest printed map in the collection is derived from Ptolemy’s Geographia. This was first compiled in c.150 A.D., but the invention of printing in the fifteenth century enabled his work to be used to create the first printed maps of the region. The Lerchbaumer collection boasts examples from the Rome (1478), Ulm (1482), Venice (1511) and Waldseemuller (1513) editions of Ptolemy.



Following the Arabic conquest of North Africa in the eleventh century, information on the region increased steadily; Arabic Geographers Ibn Haulak, Mohamed Idrisi, Ibn Battuta, and later Leo Africanus (Hassan Ibn Mohammed Al-Wazza) travelled in and described these countries, and Europeans incorporated this data into their mapping of Africa.



The Mediterranean had long been a mercantile highway; European merchants from Genoa, Pisa, Venice and Marseilles had close contacts with the markets in Fez, Algiers, Tunis and Egypt even before the Portuguese and Spanish began the exploration and colonization of Africa. The Arabic settlement also brought war; the Berbers (who give their name to “Barbary”) were notorious pirates, heavily involved the slave trade, who harassed shipping in the region, and were ultimately suppressed by the European powers.



An area of such importance to Europe as a whole demanded increasingly accurate cartography; accordingly, evolving European knowledge of the region is represented in the work of successive generations of great cartographers such as Gastaldi, Munster, Ortelius, De Jode, Mercator, Blaeu, Hondius, Jansson, Sanson, Browne, Moll, Quad, Jaillot, De Fer, Duval, Homann, Van der Aa and many others.



The Lerchbaumer collection is therefore an unrivalled and fascinating chance to see the cartographical development of this area of beauty, danger, and opportunity.



For a fuller listing of maps see catalogue note:

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Ptolemaic maps: 22 items, comprising

Ptolemy. Prima Africae tabula, 1478

Ptolemy. Quarta Africae tabula, 1478

Ptolemy. Prima Africae tabula, 1478- 1507

Ptolemy. Affrice tabule quatuor, 1482

Ptolemy (Berlinghieri). Tabula Prima di Libya, 1482

Ptolemy. Prima Affrice tabula, 1486

Ptolemy (Sylvanus). Prima Africae tabula, 1511

Ptolemy (Waldseemuller). Tabula Prima Africae (2 copies)

Ptolemy (Waldseemuller). Tabula secunda Africae, 1513

Ptolemy (Waldseemuller). Tertia Africae tabula, 1513

Ptolemy (Waldseemuller) Tabula Quarta Africae, 1513

Ptolemy. [Tabula I Africa], 1535

Ptolemy (Munster). Aphricae tabula I (2 copies), 150

Ptolemy (Munster). Tabula Africae IIII, 1540

Ptolemy (Mercator). Africae I Tabula, 1578

Ptolemy (Gastaldi). Tabula Aphricae I, 1548 (2 copies)

Ptolemy (Gastaldi). Tabula Africae IIII, 1548

Ptolemy (Gastaldi). Mauritania Nova tabula

Ptolemy (Ruscelli). Mauritania nuova tavola, 1561

 

The Kingdome of Fez and Morocco: 23 items, including

[Anon] after Ortelius. Fezza et Marocchi, 1646 (2 copies)

Blaeu. Fessae et Marocchi Regna , 1665

Canzler. Karte von Fez und Morocco, 1797

Chatelain. Singularites curieuses des Royaumes Maroc et de Fez, 1719

Dapper. Fezzae et Marocch, 1668

Flemming. Marokko, 1840

Homann . Statuum Maroccanarum, 1728 (2 copies, different editions)

Mercator. Fessae et Marocchi Regna, 1630 (3 copies -various texts on verso)

Metellus. Fessae et Marochi Regna, 1595

Meyer. Nord Westlichen Africa oder der Sultanat, 1844 (2 copies)

Ortelius. Fessae et Merocchi, 1595

Sanson. Estats et Royaumes de Fez et Maroc, 1655 (3 copies, various editions)

Schenck and Valk. Fezzae et Marocchi Regna, 1700

Schraembl. Marokko, 1789

Van der Aa. Les Royaunes de Fez et du Marocc (2 copies)

Two bank certificates

 

The Barbary Coast: 10 items, comprising

Blaeu. Barbaria, 1645 (2 copies)

Browne. Barbaria, 1697

Clouet. Barbarie, 1787

Collin. Carte des cotes de Barbarie, 1738

Covens and Mortier. Carte de la Barbarie, de la Nigrite et Guinee, 1700

De Jode. Barbariae pars Africa, 1593

Jansson. Nova Barbariae descriptio, 1646

Ortelius. Barbariae et Biledulgerid, 1570

Santini. Carte e la Barbarie, 1775

 

Small and miniature maps: 49 items, including

Bellin. Carte des Royaume de Fez et de Maroc, 1738 (2 copies)

Bellin. Carte occidentale d’Afrique , Maurepas, 1738 (2 copies)

Bellin. Isle de Mogador, 1781 (2 copies)

Bertius. Barbaria, 1618

Bonne. Carte de la partie Sept. de Afrique, 1774

Bonne. Etats du Roi Maroc, 1771

Chamouin. Barbarie, 1809

Kaerius. Barbaria, 1636

Magini. Tabula prima dell’Africa, 1596

Mercator/Hondius. Barbaria, 1630

Mercator/Janssonius. Marocchi Regnum, 1631

Mercator/Janssonius. Fessae Regnum, 1631

Moll. The West part of Barbary, 1700

Muller. [Biledulgerid, 1692]

Muller. Barbaria occidnetalis. 1692

Sanson. Pars Biledulgrid, 1676

Sanson. Regnum Fezza, 1676

Sanson. Regnum Marocco, 1676

Sanson. Royaume d Maroc, 1682 (4 copies)

Sanson. T’gedeelte van Biledulgerid, 1756

Sanson. Royaume de Fez, 1682

 

General maps of North and West Africa: 11 items, comprising

Anon. Africa occidentalis, [n.d.]

Anon. Mauretania et Numidia, [n.d.]

Bonne. Carte de Guinée, 1779

D’Anville. Carte de la partie occidentale de l’Afrique, 1727

De Fer. Partie occidentale de l’Afrique, [1705]

Jansson. Africae antiquae, [1652]

Reinecke. Charte der Nordküste Africas, 1833

Scherer. Archipelagus et Atlanticus, [1703]

Weigel. Africae pars superior occidentalis, [1730]

Weigel. Mauretania et Numidia, [n.d.]

Wieland. Das Nordwestliche Africa, 1833