1780 Schley Map of Iran and Iraq During the Biblical Era

The Fertile Crescent of the Biblcal Era

This rare 1780 map of Mesopotamia presents the region of modern-day Syria, Iraq and western Iran. the map is centered on the courses of the Tigris and Euphrates, spanning north and south from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf and west to east from Baalbek in Lebanon to Shiraz in Iran. The map's topography is based on contemporary cartographic data, but it was not intended to depict the 18th century Near East: rather, the place names are drawn from Biblical sources, reinforced with geographical data of ancient geographers - primarily referencing the period of the Bablylonian Captivity. Other features include Mount Ararat, reputed to be the mountain where Noah's ark came to rest after The Flood.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved by Jacob van der Schley for Martinus de Bruyn's Bybelsche huis en zak-Atlas, an atlas of fifteen maps intended to accompany Johan Jacob Schmidt's 1776 Bybelsche Geögraphicus . The atlas was not produced until 1780 and was relegated to a small, solitary edition. Consequently all of the maps of the atlas are rare. OCLC shows only nine examples of the zak-Atlas in institutional collections. No separate copies of this map are listed in OCLC, and we do not see any examples in catalogue or auction records.

Cartographer

Jacob van der Schley  (July 26, 1715 - February 12, 1779) was a Dutch engraver and draftsman based in Amsterdam whose work for the 18th-century book trade included a substantial body of maps, coastal charts, town plans, and topographical views. Born in Amsterdam, he studied from about the age of twelve under Bernard Picart (1673 - 1733), whose engraving style he subsequently imitated, and completed unfinished plates after his master's death. His principal cartographic contribution was to the Hague editions of Antoine François Prévost's (1697 - 1763) Histoire générale des voyages and its Dutch counterpart, Historische beschryving der reizen, published by Pieter de Hondt (1696 - 1764), also known as Pierre de Hondt. For these publications, he engraved maps after Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703 - 1772), translating geographical compilations into copperplate rather than undertaking original surveys. Surviving examples include a chart of the southern Atlantic published in 1747, a map of Madagascar dated 1747, and a map of Cartagena, Santa Marta, and Venezuela published about 1758. His plates frequently combine French and Dutch titles, and some identify his role with the inscription 'direxit', indicating supervision of their production rather than necessarily the personal engraving of every plate. Alongside this geographical work, Schley produced portraits, book illustrations, and vignettes; his memorial portrait of Picart, dated 1734, documents his continuing connection with his teacher's artistic legacy. He also taught the engraver and art dealer Philippus van der Schley (1724 - 1817). Schley died in Amsterdam in 1779.   Further Details...

Source

De Bruyn, Martinus Bybelsche huis en zak-AtlasAmsterdam, 1780.    

Condition

Very good condition; a very faint stain, else excellent with original outline color.

References

Not in OCLC. An uncatalogued map.