Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - January - 2004 Issue
Two Small Catalogues from<br>Asher Books, Martayan Lan
1828 U.S. map from a Dutch school atlas offered by Asher Books.
By Michael Stillman
A pair of very brief catalogues were recently issued by Asher Rare Books and Martayan Lan. Maps, atlases, and globes are the focus of these short catalogues.
Asher Rare Books offers “A selection of 17 interesting Atlases, Books, Globes, and Maps.” Most are in Dutch as Asher is located in the Netherlands, but this does not mean the items offered are only of interest to collectors of the old world. For example, item 16 is an 1828 Dutch school atlas, but it contains 36 maps, including an early depiction of the Oregon Territory. Priced at €3,500 (all prices in Euros). Item 11 is a French wall map of the Americas from 1791 which shows the United States at its birth. €4,000.
Item 4 is another school atlas, by Leonard Euler. This contains 44 maps of the world as it was, or was thought to be, in 1783. €12,500. Item 5 offers a series of six interesting maps. Actually, it’s a puzzle. There are 16 wooden cube blocks, each with a part of a map on each of its 6 sides. Line them up correctly to create six different maps. The six maps are also printed on paper in case you have trouble lining them up. €2,500.
Item 10 is perfect for those interested in travels and voyages. It’s the logbook of the Dutch naval ship Sumatra under the command of Captain Engelbertus Lucas. Between 1828 and 1830, the Sumatra sailed from Rio de Janeiro through the Caribbean to Vlissingen, the Netherlands, then around West Africa, back to Rio, back north around Mexico and Florida, and finally on to Vlissingen once again. Included within the two-volume log is a full-page map, a drawing of a Spanish ship, 14 watercolors of coastal Brazil and the Caribbean, and a watercolor of the flag of Chile. €8,500.
Also to be found in this catalogue are six globes, including one on a collapsible umbrella frame, Dutch landscape prints, a 1760s 3-volume history and description of Amsterdam with 81 plates, a 1750 wall map of Holland, and Jacob de Reimer’s famous three-volume set on the Hague from 1730. Asher Rare Books may be found on the web at www.asherbooks.com or reached by phone at 31 (0)255 52 38 39.
