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C1744
A Complete map of the Southern Continent Survey’d …
Mapmaker:
The first, large scale English map solely devoted to the Australian continent, showing the results of Abel Tasman’s voyages in 1642-1644. The map is based Melchissedec Thevenot, publication first issued in 1663, with the addition of the Tropic of Capricorn, … Read Full Description
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Full Title:
A Complete map of the Southern Continent Survey’d by Capt. Abel Tasman & depicted by order of the East India Company in Holland in the Stadt House in Amsterdam.
Date:
C1744
Mapmaker:
Condition:
With an untrimmed top margin which is often cut off, minor creasing as usual, otherwise in good condition, with folds as issued. Without browning and offsetting or trimmed top margin as often found.
Technique:
Hand coloured copper engraving.
Image Size:
480mm
x 370mm
Paper Size:
526mm
x 398mm
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1744
Description:
The first, large scale English map solely devoted to the Australian continent, showing the results of Abel Tasman’s voyages in 1642-1644.
The map is based Melchissedec Thevenot, publication first issued in 1663, with the addition of the Tropic of Capricorn, as well as several other decorative elements, including: an elegant title cartouche, a compass rose and two panels of
text. The lower panel of text states ‘it is impossible to conceive a country that promises fairer from this situation than this of TERRA AUSTRALIS no longer incognita as this map demonstrates, but this Southern Continent Discovered‘. Bowen incorrectly states on the map that the continent was discovered in 1644.
The VOC had appointed Tasman on 1 August 1642, as commander of the Heemskerck and Zeehaen, with instructions to explore the unknown and previously undiscovered areas of the South Land, the south-east coast of New Guinea and surrounding islands. Tasman’s two voyages resulted in the charting of the northern, north-western and southern limits of the continent, as well as the discovery of part of the west coast of New Zealand. The map also records the following earlier Dutch discoveries on the Australian coast: Hartog in the Eendracht 1616, Houtman in the Dordrecht and Amsterdam 1619, van Leeuwin 1622, Carstensz in the Leijden 1623, Nuyts in the Gulden Zeepaert 1627 and de Wit in the Vianen 1628.
Thevenot had divided the continent with a meridian set at 135 degrees East of Greenwich, the positioning of this meridian fell along the division set out in the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, which divided the newly discovered lands outside of Europe between Spain and Portugal. The lands to the east ‘belonged’ to Portugal and those to the west, to Spain. Mapmakers depiction of the Australian continent was to remained unchanged until the discovery of the east coast by James Cook in 1769.
From Harris’s Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca, or a Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels. 2nd edition (1st edition doesn’t have this map)
References:
Clancy, R. & Richardson, A. So They Came South. Sydney 1988: Clancy 6.25 ill.p.91.
Clancy, R. The Mapping of Terra Australia. Sydney 1995 :: p.138, ill.pp.136-138.
Perry, T. The Discovery of Australia. Sydney 1982 :: p.60-61, ill.pl.29.
Perry, T. & Prescott, D. A guide to maps of Australia in books published 1780-1830. Canberra 1996 :: 1744.01.
Schilder, G. Australia Unveiled, The share of the Dutch navigators in the discovery of Australia. Amsterdam 1976 :: 87, ill.417.
Tooley, R.V. The Mapping of Australia. London 1979 :: 241, ill. pl.12..
National Library Australia, Mapping Our World. Canberra 2013 :: MAP NK 4185.
Collections:
National Library Australia: Bib ID 2650522
State Library New South Wales: CALL NUMBERS F910.8/H
State Library Victoria: MAPS SB 800 A
:
Clancy, R. & Richardson, A. So They Came South. Sydney 1988: Clancy 6.25 ill.p.91.
Clancy, R. The Mapping of Terra Australia. Sydney 1995 :: p.138, ill.pp.136-138.
Perry, T. The Discovery of Australia. Sydney 1982 :: p.60-61, ill.pl.29.
Perry, T. & Prescott, D. A guide to maps of Australia in books published 1780-1830. Canberra 1996 :: 1744.01.
Schilder, G. Australia Unveiled, The share of the Dutch navigators in the discovery of Australia. Amsterdam 1976 :: 87, ill.417.
Tooley, R.V. The Mapping of Australia. London 1979 :: 241, ill. pl.12..
National Library Australia, Mapping Our World. Canberra 2013 :: MAP NK 4185.
Collections:
National Library Australia: Bib ID 2650522
State Library New South Wales: CALL NUMBERS F910.8/H
State Library Victoria: MAPS SB 800 A
:
Emanuel Bowen (1693 - 1767)
Prominent c.18th Welsh map engraver and geographer who held the prestigious title of Royal Mapmaker, to both King George II of Great Britain and Louis XV of France. Born around 1694 in Talley, Carmarthenshire, he moved to London to apprentice under the globe maker Charles Price. By the 1720s, he had established himself as a leading figure in the London map-making trade, known for a signature style that combined technical accuracy with an abundance of decorative and informative detail.
His work was characterized by a tendency to fill the empty spaces of his maps with dense historical notes, geographical descriptions, and elaborate cartouches. This made his maps not only tools for navigation but also encyclopaedic resources for the 18th-century reader. Later in his career, he collaborated with Thomas Kitchin to produce The Large English Atlas, which remained one of the most comprehensive sets of English county maps for decades.
Despite his prolific output and the high status of his clientele, Bowen’s life ended in financial hardship. He trained several notable apprentices, including his son Thomas Bowen and his son-in-law Thomas Kitchin, yet he struggled to maintain his wealth. By the time of his death in May 1767, he had lost much of his eyesight and lived in poverty, reportedly due to family expenses.
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