This copy is copyright protected.
Copyright © 2024 Geographicus Rare Antique Maps
1664 / 1698 Levanto / Coronelli Nautical Chart of Crete and its Neighboring Islands
Crete-levanto-1664$1,000.00
Title
Coste Maritime dell' Isola di Candia con tutte le Baye e Porti di essa e dell' Isole la circonviene.
1664 (undated) 15.75 x 20.25 in (40.005 x 51.435 cm) 1 : 890000
1664 (undated) 15.75 x 20.25 in (40.005 x 51.435 cm) 1 : 890000
Description
This is Francesco Maria Levanto's 1664 chart of Crete and the adjacent Greek islands, in its 1698 Coronelli edition. Levanto's nautical atlas, Prima parte dello Specchio del Mare, was a translation of Pieter Goos' 1662 Zee-spiegel. The Italian adoption of this cartographic model is testimony to the primacy of 17th century Dutch hydrography, however misplaced it may have been in this case.
A Closer Look
Crete - here termed Candia - dominates the chart, but it is off-center toward the west to allow space for the island of Karpathos to the east (Scarpanto). To the north is an archipelago, the most prominent island of which is Stampalia, or Astypalea. The southernmost islands here are Gavdos and Gavdopoula, the southernmost islands of Greece. Here, they are named Gozo and Antigozo, respectively. (Venetians named the islands in imitation of the Maltese island Gozo.)The Source
The chart is a translated copy of Pieter Goos' De Zeekusten van 't Yland Candia… - which itself was a close copy of Jacob Colom's 1657 Candia met de Omleggende Eylanden which was copied not only by Goos, but also Doncker, and Jacobsz. This was the dominant late 17th-century cartographic model for Crete, which Zacharakis terms the Type F 'Portolan' model. It first appeared on manuscript charts of the 16th century but was adopted by Dutch cartographers in the mid-17th century. It is worth noting that Coronelli's edition - appearing in 1698 - was reproducing a 41-year-old printed chart based on portolans from a century prior. Also, the toponymy derives from the Italian/Latinate names used on Venetian charts, which were the apparent source material for Colom in his production of the earliest charts in this lineage. Thus, the eventual publication of this chart by the Venetian Coronelli brings matters full circle.Publication History and Census
This map was engraved for inclusion in Francesco Maria Levanto's 1664 Prima parte dello specchio del mare… This work was produced in at least two further editions: one reported Genoese edition of 1676, followed by the atlas' inclusion, without change, by Vincenzo Coronelli in his 1698 Atlante Veneto. Based on the folio size exhibited on the present example, we judge it to be a Coronelli edition. We see two separate examples of the Genoa edition of this work in the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana and the Universitatsbibliothek Kassel and one separate example of the Coronelli edition at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.CartographerS
Francesco Maria Levanto (fl. 1640 - 1664) was a Genoese sea captain and cartographer. Virtually nothing is known of the man beyond the work he produced: a set of manuscript charts circa 1661-1662, and his extremely rare 1664 nautical atlas, Prima parte dello specchio del mare, nel quale si descrivono tutti li porti, spiaggie, baye, isole, scogli e seccagni del Mediterraneo. This work, a translation of Pieter Goos’s 1662 ‘Zee-spiegel’ of 1662, was produced in at least two further editions: one further Genoese edition of 1676, followed by the atlas' inclusion by Vincenzo Coronelli in his Atlante Veneto in 1698. In the forward to his 1664 Specchio del Mare, Levanto claimed to have had twenty years of experience as a navigator. There, also, Levanto announced that he was working on a second part to his atlas (focusing on the ocean beyond the Mediterranean) and planned yet a third, for the East Indies. Neither of these works have survived, if they were ever completed at all. More by this mapmaker...
Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (August 16, 1650 - December 9, 1718) was an important 17th century cartographer and globe maker based in Venice. Coronelli was born the fifth child of a Venetian tailor. Unlikely to inherit his father's business, he instead apprenticed in Ravenna to a woodcut artist. Around 1663, Coronelli joined the Franciscan Order and in 1671, entered the Venetian convent of Saint Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Coronelli excelled in the fields of cosmography, mathematics, and geography. Although his works include the phenomenal Atlante Veneto and Corso Geografico, Coronelli is best known for his globes. In 1678 Coronelli was commissioned to make his first major globes by Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma. Each superbly engraved globe was five feet in diameter. Louis IV of France, having heard of the magnificent Parma globes, invited Coronelli to Paris where he constructed an even more impressive pair of gigantic globes measuring over 12 feet in diameter and weighing 2 tons each. Coronelli returned to Venice and continued to published globes, maps, and atlases which were admired all over Europe for their beauty, accuracy, and detail. He had a particular fascination for the Great Lakes region and his early maps of this area were unsurpassed in accuracy for nearly 100 years after their initial publication. He is also well known for his groundbreaking publication of the first accurate map depicting the sources of the Blue Nile. At the height of his career, Coronelli founded the world's first geographical society, the Accademia Cosmografica degli Argonauti and was awarded the official title Cosmographer of the Republic of Venice. In 1699, in recognition of his extraordinary accomplishment and scholarship, Coronelli was also appointed Father General of the Franciscan Order. The great cartographer and globe maker died in Venice at the age of 68. His extraordinary globes can be seen today at the Bibliothèque Nationale François Mitterrand in Paris, Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, in the National Library of Austria and in the Globe Museum in Vienna, in the library of Stift Melk, in the Special Collections Library of Texas Tech University, as well as lesser works in Trier, Prague, London, and Washington D.C. Coronelli's work is notable for its distinctive style, which is characterized by high quality white paper, dark intense impressions, detailed renderings of topographical features in profile, and numerous cartographic innovations. Learn More...
Source
Coronelli, V., Atlante Veneto, (Venice) 1698.
The Atlante Veneto was a Venetian cosmographic atlas issued by the Jesuit Minorite friar, geographer, and globe maker Vincenzo Maria Coronelli. The Atlante Veneto was a massive work consisting of some 13 volumes in four parts. The first section focused on a general introduction to geography and included notes a various geographic systems and globes. The second part consisted of world maps from various periods and in various styles, including double page maps of the continents and poles derived from his earlier globe work. The third part focused on hydrography and included nautically styled maps of important rivers, bays, oceans, lakes, and gulfs. The fourth and final section detailed exploration and describing noting various explorers and their discoveries. The whole consisted of some 191 engraved charts and maps as well as an assortment of views and decorative plates. The atlas was conceived as a continuation of Blaeu's Atlas Major and in many respects follows Blaeu cartographically. Many of the other maps are derived from Coronelli's own earlier globe work and exhibit various distinctly globe-like elements. Coronelli first issued the Atlante Veneto in 1691. A second edition was prepared and issued between 1695 and 1697. Most of the individual map plates remain identical between editions. The maps of the Atlante Veneto are universally admired for their exquisite engraving and high production quality, including fine paper and premium inks. All examples were issued uncolored and have typically been left as such by dealers and collectors.
Condition
Very good. Few marginal mends and filled wormholes, not impacting printed image. Else excellent.
References
OCLC 495030009. Zacharakis, C. G. A Catalogue of Printed Maps of Greece 1477-1800, 2030.