TOTIUS AFRICAE NOVA REPRAESENTATIO

Key Properties

Edition: Homann's first map of Africa

Language: Latin

Collation & Technical Description

Hand-coloured copper engraving. Plate approx. 48.5 × 57.5 cm; frame approx. 65 × 74.5 cm. Striking decorative cartouche at lower left; extended note on the sources of the Nile.

Condition

The photograph shows fine colour, a normal centre fold and limited age marks. The map is framed; the verso and mounting cannot be inspected.

References & Bibliography

J. B. Homann, Totius Africae Nova Repraesentatio, Nuremberg, c. 1715.

Homann's first map of Africa and the first to carry an extended note on the sources of the Nile. Cf. Norwich, Maps of Africa; Tooley.

Description

A large and well-saleable map of the African continent by Johann Baptist Homann. The map combines historical geography with a striking decorative cartouche at lower left.

Several erroneous or speculative geographical elements still appear in the interior. The source of the Nile is shown according to early-eighteenth-century knowledge. It is precisely these historical misconceptions that increase collector interest.

Through its format, colour and recognisable subject this is an accessible wall object with a broader private market than many specialist regional maps.

Notable features: Large, colourful map of the continent; Rich cartouche with allegorical and exotic elements; Provenance: Deutsche Shipping Collection, Hamburg.

Historical Significance

Homann's first map of Africa and the first to carry a detailed note on the sources of the Nile; a leading German decorative continental map of the early eighteenth century.

Provenance

Deutsche Shipping Collection, Hamburg.