1747 Bowen Map of the Netherlands (Holland) and the North Sea

This is a beautiful 1747 map of Holland or the Netherlands by the British cartographer Emanuel Bowen. Essentially two maps on a single sheet, the top map depicts all of modern day Netherlands along with the northern parts of Belgium. Several towns, cities, rivers, lakes, roads and a host of additional topographical features are noted throughout, with mountains beautifully rendered in profile. The bottom map depicts the North Sea with the eastern coast of England and the western coast of Belgium and the Netherlands.

The region at the time this map was made was known as the 'Republic of the Seven United Provinces.' Officially recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the Republic of the United Provinces lasted until 1794, when Napoleonic forces invaded and set up a new French client state, the Batavian Republic. After Napoleon's fall in 1815, the Congress of Vienna united these provinces with the Low Countries to the south to form the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands, with the world's first stock exchange, is considered to be the birthplace of the modern capitalist economy.

The lower map features a nautical chart of the eastern coast of England and the western coast of the Netherlands and Belgium. This chart notes coastal cities, shoals and islands. Rhumb lines and soundings are present throughout.

A beautiful title cartouche adorns the top left quadrant of the map, illustrating a scene with a man and woman in traditional outfits. This map was prepares by Emanuel Bowen as plate no. 14 for the 1747 issue of A Complete System of Geography.

Cartographer

Emanuel Bowen (1694 - May 8, 1767) was a Welsh cartographer, map engraver, and publisher active in London during the first half and middle of the 18th century. Born at Talley, Carmarthenshire, he was apprenticed in 1709 to the London engraver and globe-maker Charles Price, beginning a career that combined the compilation of geographical information with copperplate engraving for booksellers and map publishers. His early work included maps for an Atlas of the World issued in 1717, followed by Britannia Depicta; or, Ogilby Improv'd (1720), prepared with John Owen, which brought together reduced road-strip maps, county maps, and historical and heraldic information in a portable volume. In 1729, Bowen published a subscription-funded map of South Wales, substantially improving the region's cartographic representation; the map's geographical information subsequently informed his Welsh county maps. After working at several London addresses, he established workshops in Aldersgate, Smithfield, and Clerkenwell, producing maps extensively for other publishers rather than relying on a prominent retail shop. His international cartography included maps for A Complete System of Geography (1744 - 1747), the 1744-48 edition of Navigantium atque itinerantium bibliotheca, and A Complete Atlas (1752). He became geographer to George II around 1747. Among his apprentices were Thomas Kitchin (1719 - 1784), who married Bowen's daughter Sarah in 1739, and Thomas Jefferys (1719 - 1771), apprenticed in 1735. With Kitchin, Bowen produced the county maps issued between 1749 and 1760 that formed The Large English Atlas; their collaboration continued in The Royal English Atlas around 1763. His maps characteristically combined detailed geographical engraving and ornamental cartouches with extensive historical, economic, and topographical annotations. Despite his substantial output and royal appointment, Bowen died in reduced circumstances in 1767. His son and fellow engraver, Thomas Bowen (d. 1790), continued his cartographic work, including Atlas Anglicanus (1767 - 1768), which was completed and issued after Emanuel's death.   Further Details...

Source

Bowen, E., A Complete System of Geography. Being a description of all the countries, islands, cities, chief towns, harbours, lakes, and rivers, mountains, mines, etc., of the known world …, (London) 1747.     

Condition

Very good. Original platemark visible. Blank on verso.

References

Rumsey 3733.013. Philips (atlases) 614 (1752 edition)