Linschoten's 1596 Map of South America and the Caribbean with Florida, in Original Color:  Delineatio omnium orarum totius Australis partis Americae, dictae Peruvianae, a R. de la Plata, Brasiliam, Pariam, & Castellam....

Original copperplate printed map
Original Color
390 x 554 mm
Map # AAM-262
$ Sold

Click Here for a High Resolution Close-up of Florida and the Caribbean



Click Here for a High Resolution Image with the frame

Click Here for High Resolution Image of the Verso.

The map shows the Caribbean from Florida and the Mississippi area southward including Cuba and the other islands with parts of Central America.   All of South America is shown including the supposed southern continent identified by Terra del Fuego.  The extensive details of coastal and other navigational points are based primarily on Iberian sources, and particularly the portolan chart of the Portuguese, Bartolemeu Lasso. 

The map is situated with north on the right.   Two large, attractive cartouches dominate the map.  There is a title cartouche in the upper left with the text in Latin along with the author and engraver of this map, Arnold Floris van Langrens (Arnoldus Florentius a Langrens Author & Sculptor, at the bottom of the title cartouche).  We attribute this map to Linschoten as that is often how the map is identified in the literature since this map is from Linschoten's Itinerario... .  

There is a text box cartouche in the the bottom right (with the description in Dutch).  Ships share the seas with several sea monsters.  The map has excellent finely engraved detail showing numerous depictions of animals, people and fauna within South America.  

Linschoten (1562-1611) was employed as Secretary to the Portuguese Archbishop of Goa in India from 1583.  Here, he had access to many Portuguese portolans as well as other valuable commercial information.  Linschoten returned to Holland in 1592 and there wrote a history of his years of travel, the Itinerario..., which incorporated all that he had learned from the Portuguese.  This book and the accompanying maps provided precise information on the Portuguese sea routes to the East,  their re-supply points around Africa, and their trading stations in the East.  The book had a tremendous influence on Dutch expansion in the East and particularly in Java.  This particular map was prepared to accompany the third part of the Itinerario..., which dealt with the Americas.

This map was prepared and first appeared in Linschoten's book published in Dutch in 1596, and then in Latin in 1599, English in 1598, French in 1610,1619, and 1638, and again in Dutch in 1605, 1614, 1623, and 1644 (Map Collector Circle).  As there is no text on verso, it is difficult to precisely date this map.  Van Langrens prepared and engraved this map (Arnoldus F a Langren Author & Sculptor).  The map was designed and finely engraved, owing to the renowned expertise of Van Langrens.

Reference:  Schilder, Gunter, Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica, vol VII (we highly recommend this book; chapter X is devoted to Linschoten).   Linschoten, Discours of Voyages into Y East & West Indies, Facsimile of the London 1598 edition. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, Amsterdam, 1974.

A Very Fine Example of Linschoten's important map of South America and the Caribbean.  Complete margins for this map!  These Linschoten maps often are found with margins trimmed into the neatline so that the maps could fit into the much smaller book.  The high resolution digital image above shows the entire map including the margins so the size of the margins can be examined.    The paper is solid and surprisingly thick and robust for a Linschoten.  

We have also included a high resolution image of the verso (see above).  You may notice that there is a small piece of paper added on the verso to the center of the paper; this reinforces a very slight separation.  This paper is placed where the map was bound into the book and may have been placed there originally.  This is not noticeable from the front of the map.   As you will note from the image of the verso, you will see some evidence of the original color on the verso, though there is no weakening of the paper as a result of this color.  The color itself is beautiful.  The map has its folds where it was inserted into the book.  These folds are all solid.  The three white tabs at the top of the verso are where the map was joined to the matboard.

The map is magnificent.   We have sold this map in the past, though this is by far the best example we have had. 

Please note:  This map is framed using conservation techniques with archival materials and UV glass, etc.  We can ship this map with the gold-colored wooden frame at no extra cost, except for packaging and shipping.