Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2010 Issue
Fine Antique Maps from Jonathan Potter Limited
The Pacific Ocean, bounded by an enormous southern continent.
Item 148 is a C. Flemming German reissue of the map of Texas originally published by John Arrowsmith. This shows Texas during its brief republic period (dated 1845). The printing in Germany is significant as this was the time when German immigrants were encouraged to come to Texas. The Texas German community of New Braunfels was established in that year, Fredericksburg the following year. £1,500 (US $2,390).
Item 285 is one of those combination cartoons and maps, and a very political one at that. The heading is An Eclipse. Lately Discovered In The Georgium Sidus, And Quite Unexpected By Any Of The Astronomers. The date of this lithograph is 1829; the creator "A. Sharpshooter." It depicts the sun as the face of King George IV, almost blotted out by the moon, containing the face of the Duke of Wellington, then serving as Prime Minister. Wellington's eclipse of George casts a long shadow on the Earth, covering England in particular. However, Ireland continues to enjoy the bright sunlight. In 1829, Parliament passed the Catholic Relief Act, with Wellington being the prime promoter and the one who put pressure on George to go along. The Act enabled Catholics to serve in Parliament. That was particularly welcome by Catholic Ireland. One can guess that Mr. "Sharpshooter" was perhaps less than pleased with this development. £400 (US $637).
Item 108 is an Ortelius map, originally published in 1590, and taken from his Spanish language atlas of 1612. It displays the Pacific Ocean, and the lands surrounding it. The Americas and the coast of Asia are reasonable enough for the time, but the island of New Guinea is way outsized for reality, and most notable is the presence of the great southern continent. Anyone wondering why Cook's discovery almost two centuries later that there was no great southern continent was so significant need only look at this map. It runs all the way from the tip of South America to just south of New Guinea, and this is just the Pacific portion of this enormous, though unreal continent. £7,500 (US $11,956).
Jonathan Potter Limited may be reached at info@jpmaps.co.uk or +44 (0)20 7491 3520. The website is found at www.jpmaps.co.uk.
