[Americana]. HOMANN, Johann Baptiste. - Lot 259

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Lot n° 259
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[Americana]. HOMANN, Johann Baptiste. - Lot 259
[Americana]. HOMANN, Johann Baptiste. Totius Americae Septentrionalis et Meridionalis, novissima representatio [...] Nuremberg, [1720]. A black copperplate engraving, 50.4 x 58.7 cm (sheet), with colored borders (oxidized sheet, water stains, and marginal ink spots). Second state of Johann Baptist Homann’s map of America, depicting North and South America as well as the West Indies. South America is divided into Amazonum Regio, Terra Magellanica, Peru, Terra Firma, Caribana, Uruguay, Chile, and Paraguay, while North America includes, among others, Florida, Carolina, Louisiana, New England, Virginia, Maryland, Canada, New Britain, California, and Greenland. California is depicted here as a peninsula connected to the mainland and associated with Terra Esonis Incognita. The northwest coast, still largely unknown to European cartographers, bears the inscription “Costa Terrae Borealis incognitae detecta a Dom: Ioanne de Gama navigante ex China in Novam Hispaniam.” The map features two compass roses—one in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Atlantic Ocean—a decorative title cartouche in the lower left corner, and a second cartouche in the upper left corner dedicated to the discovery of America and the territorial claims of European powers. The map reflects the still uneven geographical knowledge of the New World in the early 18th century: the eastern coasts of North America, the West Indies, and the South American coasts are depicted with relative precision, while California and the northwestern part of the continent remain largely speculative. Homann thus indicates part of the presumed outline of the California coast with a hatched line. The depiction of California is based in particular on the work of Nicolas Sanson, with the addition of several place names such as S. Isidoro, Gigante, and N.S. de la Guadalupe. This map was originally published in Homann’s *Atlas novus terrarium* (1702–1750). Cummings 156; Morrison, *On the Map*, 27; Moreland and Bannister, 84; Tooley, 308.
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