18thC North America map with California island. Scherer, c1710.
$1,800.00
Idea naturalis Americae borealis digito dei formata Geographice proposita an MDCC. cum suo apparatu volucrum piscium et quadrupedum a MDCC. Antique map of North America with California as an island, c1702 for early thematic atlas by Jesuit geographer Heinrich Scherer.
Rare copperplate-engraved map of North America with a wonderful cartouche of (African) rhinoceros, lion, tiger, and birds; and 20 odd sea creatures. California is still shown as an island, although the map was published after the date that this was disproved. This superb antique map of North America was published in Munich circa 1710, by cartographer Heinrich Scherer (1628-1704) for his Atlas Novus exhibens orbem terraguem per naturae opera, historiae navae acveterus monumenta, artistique geographicae leges et praecepta.. (New Atlas exhibiting the lands, their nature, historic monuments, geography..) by Heinrich Scherer. Scherer’s maps are distinctive for their strongly defined engraving and unusual imagery – and are perhaps more collectable for their inaccuracies.
Scherer's maps were published in Munich between 1702 and 1710. Heinrich Scherer was a Jesuit priest who was a geographer and cartographer. He was also Professor of Mathematics, Hebrew and Ethics at the Universtiy of Dillingen in Germany, before being appointed royal tutor to the courts of Mantua and Bavaria.
The map is in good condition with a narrow border on the right hand side. Double page, with central vertical fold, measures 275 x 375mm (10.75 x 14.75 inches)
