1804 Neele / Boisgelin Map of Malta and Gozo

A spectacular discovery, this 1804 production is the largest and most detailed map of Malta to appear in the 19th century. The map was produced by Pierre Marie Louis de Boisgelin de Kerdu and Samuel John Neele based upon Boisgelin's lifetime of experience in Malta as a member of the knightly monastic Order of St. John. The map is matched in dimensions and sophistication only by the Carte Generale de la Principaute Souveraine des Isles de Malte et du Goze (53.1 x 22.8 inches), made by Gervais de Palmeus in 1752.

On the Map

Oriented to the northeast - unusual for maps of Malta which typically have the opposite orientation. Fine engraving employing hachuring illustrates the island's topography. Some depth soundings are included, particularly around the important harbor of Valetta. The detail is impressive, with important buildings and streets in every town and village on the island noted. An evocative cartouche is featured in the upper right.

The Knights of St. John in Dire Straits

An evocative cartouche is featured in the upper right. It figures a Knight of the Order of St. John reaching for a sinking ship. This directly relates to the dire circumstances of the knightly order in 1805. The Order was unpopular with the French Revolutionaries, who saw it as a hold out of the established nobility - which it was. The National Convention seized the order's possessions in France in 1792, shortly after taking power. When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Malta in 1798, he expelled the order, whose members fled to various parts of Europe. As French influence, under Napoleon, spread throughout continental Europe, more of the Order's possessions were seized, leaving it with few assets and a diaspora membership. England seized control of Malta in 1800 and agreed to return Malta to the Order in 1802-3, but this never materialized. Today the Order is based in Rome but maintains limited extraterritoriality at upper portion of Fort St. Angelo in the city of Birgu, Malta.

Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta

The Knights of St. John or the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) is a Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalric, and noble nature. The organization claims continuity to the Knights Hospitalier, a Crusading chivalric order that was founded c. 1099 by the Blessed Gerard in medieval Jerusalem. The headquarters of the Order of Saint John had been in Malta from 1530 until 1798. During the French Occupation, in 1798, the Order was expelled from Malta, its members fleeing to various parts of Europe. The Order's rights were reasserted in 1879, when the Grand Magisterium of Malta was restored by order of Pope Leo XIII. Although not recognized by the United Nations, the Order is essentially an independent political entity comprising some 13,500 members. They remain true to their mediaeval roots, running hospitals throughout Europe and employing some 42,000 doctors and 80,00 volunteers in more than 120 countries.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by Samuel John Neele under the supervision of Pierre Marie Louis de Boisgelin de Kerdu. It was engraved and printed by the firm of G. and J. Robinson. The work was intended to compliment and illustrate Boisgelin's Ancient and Modern Malta, but was often, as here, also issued separately. Examples are scarce to the market, appearing roughly once every two or three years.