1650 Blaeu View of New Amsterdam (the earliest obtainable view of New York City)
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Description: A remarkable discovery, this is the second earliest published view of New York City (the earliest being Joost Hartgers unobtainable view). Issued around 1650 by the Dutch cartographer Joannes Blaeu, this view details the southern tip of Manhattan, then New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam), as it appeared under the Dutch colonial government. Although Stokes refutes this, our research suggests it is most likely derived from a watercolor illustration of New Amsterdam (New York) discovered in the Albertina Collection of Vienna in 1991. The Albertina watercolor is probably the work of Augustin Herman (c. 1621 – 1686), a cartographer and illustrator of Bohemian descent who settled in New York (New Amsterdam) in the 1640s. Blaeu engraved and published the view independently as Nieuw Amsterdam op t Eyland Manhatttans around 1650 – which corresponds to this example. Later it was adopted by another Dutch cartographer, Nicholas Visscher, who used it to illustrate his influential 1655 map of the Mid-Atlantic and New England entitled Novi Belgii. Despite lacking in significant cartographic innovation, Novi Belgii is an enormously significant map for its widespread popularization of Blaeu's historic view. To this day Nieuw Amsterdam op t Eyland Manhatttans is commonly, if somewhat erroneously, referred to as the 'Visscher View'.
This map is an object of considerable controversy. For a time, this print was considered to be a 19th century reproduction of the etched view on Visscher's map. In recent years some exciting scholarship has emerged in defense of this map's authenticity and importance in the form of Joep M. R. De Koning's fascinating Mercator's World article on the subject. De Koning's research, the only published study of this document, suggests that the original watercolor view discovered in the Albertina collection was drawn in the summer of 1648. It, along with other documents including a manuscript map, was sent to Amsterdam by Van der Donck in a direct appeal to the Dutch Republic for support. Due to its fiscal and military failures in South America, the Dutch West India Company was apparently neglectful of its colonies in North America, particularly New Amsterdam. The report and the Albertina view suggest a colony in ruinous condition on the brink of collapse. De Koning argues that this view served as a prototype of the etched view, engraved by Blaeu and offered here. It is notable that where the Albertina view represents a city in dire straits, the Blaeu view suggests a prosperous settlement. No doubt this 'sanitized' reiteration of the view reflects the interests of Van der Donck and the West India Company in attracting new colonists.
The view was printed as one of several unrelated views etched onto a single plate, printed on one sheet, and then cut into small units. All examples thus lack a plate mark however are notably printed on Blaeu's distinctive watermarked paper – of which no blank reserves are known to have been produced since or salvaged from the 1672 fire that destroyed the Blaeu firm. The view was designed to accompany the 1650 printed version of Van der Donck's Remonstrance, titled Vertoogh van Nieu-Neder-land. The engraving quality of the Blaeu view is noticeably superior to that of the Visscher view, further reflecting the fine craftsmanship of the Blaeu firm. There is some speculation that both the Blaeu View and the Visscher View were engraved by the same figure, a Dutchman by the name of Pieter Hendrikzszoon Schut - though no significant proof has been offered to this effect.
This view is, in any case, an piece of extreme interest and rarity and an important piece for any collection focusing on Dutch colonial era New York. We have been able to identify only four known examples, one in the collection of the New York Public Library, another owned by Mr. De Koning, a third in an undisclosed private collection, and this piece. The present piece has been meticulously compared under high magnification with two of these four examples and is on the same paper and clearly printed from the same plate. Moreover - this example is the finest we have seen.
Date: 1650 (undated)
References: Koning, Joep M.J. de, 'From Van der Donck to Visscher: A 1648 View of New Amsterdam,' Mercator's World, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Jul/Aug 2000), pp 28-33. Stokes, I. N. P., The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909, pp 25ff, cf. pl. 9. Burden, P. D., The Mapping of North America: A List of Printed Maps, 1511-1670, #315 and #317. http://cartography.geog.uu.nl/explokart/mappae_summaries.html Checklist of Engraved Views of the City of New York in the New York Public Library, no. 10518.
Cartographer: The Amsterdam based Blaeu clan represents the single most important family in the history of cartography. The firm was founded in 1596 by Willem Janzoon Blaeu (1571-1638). It was in this initial period, from 1596 to 1672, under the leadership of the Willem Blaeu and with this assistance of his two talented sons Cornelius (1616-1648) and Johannis (1596-1673), that the firm was most active. Their greatest cartographic achievement was the publication of the magnificent multi-volume Atlas Major. To this day, the Atlas Major represents one of the finest moments in cartography. The vast scope, stagger attention to detail, historical importance, and unparalleled beauty of this great work redefined the field of cartography in ways that have endured to the modern era. The cartographic works of the Blaeu firm are the crowning glory of the Dutch Golden age. The firm shut down in 1672 when their offices were destroyed during the Great Amsterdam fire. Click here for a list of rare maps from Willem Janzoon Blaeu.
Size: Printed area measures 12 x 3 inches (30.48 x 7.62 centimeters)
Condition: Very good condition. Light soiling upper left corner and right margin. Else very clean.
Code: NieuwAmsterdamManhattan-blaeu-1652 (to order by phone call: 646-320-8650)
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