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1707 Eberhard Isbrand Ides / Johann Baptist Homann Map of the Russian Empire
Russia-homann-1707$750.00
Title
Generalis totius imperii Moscovitici...
1707 (undated) 19.25 x 22.5 in (48.895 x 57.15 cm) 1 : 13000000
1707 (undated) 19.25 x 22.5 in (48.895 x 57.15 cm) 1 : 13000000
Description
This is Eberhard Isbrand Ides' map of the Russian Empire in Asia, revised and engraved in 1707 by Johann Baptist Homann. Ides produced the map in 1704 to accompany the travelogue of his experiences in 1692 as an envoy sent by Peter the Great to Kangxi China in the wake of the 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk. Although Ides credited his map to Nicolaes Witsen, the present work is more reflective of Russian cartography at the end of the 17th century than Witsen's cartography. Homann's revision of the map - placing it on a conic projection, a sophistication lacking in the Ides - sets this map apart both from its source and from other contemporaneous maps of the region.
The cartography for China appearing here is derived from Dutch maps of the latter 17th century, with roots in the atlas of Martino Martini (1614 - 1661.) Likewise, the treatment of South Asia is derived from 17th-century Dutch sources.
A Closer Look
The map presents Russia in Asia from the Empire's western border with Sweden, Livonia, and Lithuania eastwards to a highly conjectural Pacific coastline. The map's scope includes Nova Zembla and Spitzbergen in the north (with a broad, frozen Arctic ) whilst reaching southwards to the Black and Caspian Seas, Persia, and the Mogul Empire (northern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.) In the southeast, China and Korea are recognizable. The path taken by Ides on his 1692 embassy is traced from Moscow to the river Ob and east to Lake Baikal. From there, the track leads to Nerchinsk (Nerzinskoi) on the frontier with China, and then south through Chinese Tartary, crossing the Great Wall, to Peking.The Sources
Ides - both by his own account and Witsen's - received a map from the Dutch scholar-statesman before undertaking his 1692 journey to China. Barring some general similarities in the presentation of the Caspian and Nova Zembla, the present work does not resemble Witsen's 1687 work, however. Bagrow identified its probable source as a Russian chertyozh, which Witsen hoped that Ides would be able to correct and improve. Bagrow suspected that Ides may have added content not only from his own journeys but also from Russian maps acquired in Moscow. The Russian origin of Ides' map tends to be supported by the rectilinear, primitive form of the maps appearing in the 1704 editions of his travelogue, reflective of Russian conventions at the end of the 17th century. (Homann corrected this in his 1707 iteration of the map, putting it instead on the conic projection evident here.)The cartography for China appearing here is derived from Dutch maps of the latter 17th century, with roots in the atlas of Martino Martini (1614 - 1661.) Likewise, the treatment of South Asia is derived from 17th-century Dutch sources.
The Cartouche
Ides' journey to China commanded by Tzar Peter the Great (1672 - 1725), and the map focuses on the extent of the Russian Empire; thus, it is not surprising that the cartouche celebrates the then-illustrious Tzar. Peter is depicted centrally in a conversation with a figure representing the Church (bearing a papal cross; possibly Homann was downplaying the division between the Roman and Orthodox churches, or this may be an allusion to Peter's efforts to westernize Orthodoxy.) To the right, European figures present the fruits of modern science: a ship, cannons, a globe, and a map. (This last deserves attention; it depicts an island in a bay and a modern star fort at the mouth of a river. There are no placenames; the second plate of this map, engraved between 1710 and 1716, identifies the fort as 'St. Petersburg' and the island as 'Reitskär' in the Finnish Sea. These were all recent Russian conquests in the ongoing Second Northern War (1700 - 1721). Books, musical instruments, a telescope, and a caduceus are piled at their feet, symbolizing mercantile power. To the left, Minerva (goddess of wisdom in war) chats with the muse Geometria, her sandaled foot on a globe. A putto at her feet studies a map of interconnected rivers and lakes, evoking the topology of central Asia. In the background, Mercury (in the winged helm) invokes the powers of trade again, accompanied by a fur-hatted Tatar.Publication History and Census
This is the first plate of this map, probably engraved by Homann himself, for inclusion in the 1707 Frankfurt edition of Ides' Dreyjährige Reise nach China, von Moscau ab zu Lande durch gross Ustiga, Siriania, Permia, Sibirien, Daour, und die grosse Tartarey. Homann also included the map in the first and second editions of his Neuer Atlas from 1707. This first plate remained in the Homann atlas until 1716 or so, when a re-engraved second plate began to appear, with material changes to the cartouche and the addition of Witsen's peninsula. The map was be completely replaced by Homann Heirs with a new map composed by Matthias Haas in 1739, reflecting the rapid strides in geographical knowledge for the Asian Pacific. The present first-plate example is from a 1710 edition of the Neuer Atlas. The map is well represented in institutional collections, albeit with wildly inconsistent dating; likewise, the map appears on the market, but its dating (and attendant historical context) is poorly appreciated.CartographerS
Eberhard Isbrand Ides (1657 - 1708) was a Dutch - Danish merchant, traveler and diplomat. Little is known of his youth and education, but by 1677 he was trading with, and traveling to Russia; it is known that in 1687 he had settled in the German Quarter of Moscow. Following the 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk, he accompanied a Russo-German embassy to Kangxi China, in order to develop trade relations between the two empires. After returning, he engaged in projects modernizing Russia's military and Navy, eventually becoming a commissioner of the Russian Admiralty, and an administrator of export tariffs for the port of Arkhangelsk. His travels to China were aided by a Russian map of East Asia supplied him by Nicolas Witsen, which the Dutch scholar-statesman hoped Ides would correct; he would soon have his own information to add, being one of the first Europeans to describe the Gobi Desert firsthand. In 1704 which included his map. Different editions of Ides' Dreyjährige Reise nach China featured examples of the map engraved by an array of mapmakers: Halma did one of the Dutch editions and an English one; the Frankfurt edition of 1707 included a map engraved by Homann. More by this mapmaker...
Johann Baptist Homann (March 20, 1664 - July 1, 1724) was the most prominent and prolific map publisher of the 18th century. Homann was born in Oberkammlach, a small town near Kammlach, Bavaria, Germany. As a young man, Homann studied in a Jesuit school and nursed ambitions of becoming a Dominican priest. Nonetheless, he converted to Protestantism in 1687, when he was 23. It is not clear where he mastered engraving, but we believe it may have been in Amsterdam. Homann's earliest work we have identified is about 1689, and already exhibits a high degree of mastery. Around 1691, Homann moved to Nuremberg and registered as a notary. By this time, he was already making maps, and very good ones at that. He produced a map of the environs of Nürnberg in 1691/92, which suggests he was already a master engraver. Around 1693, Homann briefly relocated to Vienna, where he lived and studied printing and copper plate engraving until 1695. Until 1702, he worked in Nuremberg in the map trade under Jacob von Sandrart (1630 - 1708) and then David Funck (1642 - 1709). Afterward, he returned to Nuremberg, where, in 1702, he founded the commercial publishing firm that would bear his name. In the next five years, Homann produced hundreds of maps and developed a distinctive style characterized by heavy, detailed engraving, elaborate allegorical cartouche work, and vivid hand color. Due to the lower cost of printing in Germany, the Homann firm could undercut the dominant French and Dutch publishing houses while matching their diversity and quality. Despite copious output, Homann did not release his first major atlas until the 33-map Neuer Atlas of 1707, followed by a 60-map edition of 1710. By 1715, Homann's rising star caught the attention of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, who appointed him Imperial Cartographer. In the same year, he was also appointed a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Berlin. Homann's prestigious title came with several significant advantages, including access to the most up-to-date cartographic information as well as the 'Privilege'. The Privilege was a type of early copyright offered to very few by the Holy Roman Emperor. Though less sophisticated than modern copyright legislation, the Privilege offered limited protection for several years. Most all J. B. Homann maps printed between 1715 and 1730 bear the inscription 'Cum Priviligio' or some variation. Following Homann's death in 1724, the firm's map plates and management passed to his son, Johann Christoph Homann (1703 - 1730). J. C. Homann, perhaps realizing that he would not long survive his father, stipulated in his will that the company would be inherited by his two head managers, Johann Georg Ebersberger (1695 - 1760) and Johann Michael Franz (1700 - 1761), and that it would publish only under the name 'Homann Heirs'. This designation, in various forms (Homannsche Heirs, Heritiers de Homann, Lat Homannianos Herod, Homannschen Erben, etc.) appears on maps from about 1731 onwards. The firm continued to publish maps in ever-diminishing quantities until the death of its last owner, Christoph Franz Fembo (1781 - 1848). Learn More...
Nicolaes Witsen (May 8, 1641 - August 10, 1717) was a Dutch cartographer, diplomat, writer, businessman, and politician. Witsen was born in Amsterdam to the politically powerful Cornelius Jan Witsen, burgomaster, head bailiff and administrator of the Dutch West India Company. Witsen studied Law at the University of Leiden where he developed an interest in language and maps. He was highly educated and traveled in elite circle, befriending Oliver Cromwell, Andrew Vinius, Cosimo III de'Medici, Melchisédech Thévenot, and others. In 1662 he presented a paper at the Amsterdam Athenaeum Illustre arguing for the effect of comets on earthly life. Witsen joined the VOC (Dutch East India Company) became an expert on shipbuilding, composing several treatises on the subject. His passion, however, remained cartography, particularly the cartography of Asia. Having traveled in embassy to Russia, Witsen contrived to get special access to Russian records on the exploration of Siberia, including the heretofore unknown explorations of Semyon Dezhnev. He also acquired the diary of Maarten Gerritsz Vries, who had explored the coast of Sakhalin in 1643. The Vries diary was thereafter lost. This information he compiled into several influential maps and books on Asia which were extensively copied. One result of this work is the Witsen Peninsula - a narrow outcropping of land extending from Siberia that appears on many maps of the early 17th century. Later, Witsen became Mayor of Amsterdam, a position he held some 13 times, and under whose tenure arts flourished. Witsen died in Amsterdam and was buried near his country home in Egmond aan den Hoef. Learn More...
Source
Homann, J. B., Neuer Atlas bestehend in einig curieusen Astronomischen Kuppren und vielen auserlesenen accuratensten Land-Charten über die Gantze Welt, (Nuremberg: Homann) 1710.
Homann's Neuer Atlas bestehend in einig curieusen Astronomischen Kuppren und vielen auserlesenen accuratensten Land-Charten über die Gantze Welt was first publihsed in 1707 with 33 maps. A second edition followed in 1710 with 60 maps. Subsequent editions followed until about 1730. The title page notes proudly that the atlas features measurements based on the 'Copernican principle of the moving sky', a truly state-of-the-art innovation for the period. Regardless of editions, collations of the atlas are inconsistent, with some examples having less, while others have more maps - a consequence of the fact that the map sheets were delivered loose, to be bound at the buyer's discretion, and so some buyers chose to omit maps they did not consider relevant, or add others they did. Between editions, the constituent maps, particularly of European regions, were regularly updated to reflect the most recent political events. The atlas continued to be published by Homann's son, J. C. Homann (1703 - 1730), and then by Homann Heirs. Most examples also feature a fine allegorical frontispiece with the title Atlas Novus Terrarum Orbis Imperia, regna et Status, which was used for multiple Homann atlases, including the Neuer Atlas and the Atlas Minor.
Condition
Very good. Mend at bottom centerfold just entering image, slight loss. Old mounting on thick paper for binding; attractive original hand color. Few unobtrusive stains.
References
OCLC 1276809465. Rumsey 12499.189 (plate 2, 1716).