1708 Schenk and Valk Map of Turkey or Asia Minor

NatoliaAsiaMinor-schenk-1708
$550.00
Natolia, quae olim Asia Minor. - Main View
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1708 Schenk and Valk Map of Turkey or Asia Minor

NatoliaAsiaMinor-schenk-1708

A beautiful early 18th century map of Asia Minor.
$550.00

Title


Natolia, quae olim Asia Minor.
  1708 (undated)     15.5 x 20 in (39.37 x 50.8 cm)     1 : 3500000

Description


This is an attractive c. 1708 map of Turkey or Asia Minor. Issued by Petrus Schenk and Gerard Valk, it was engraved in 1636 by Henry Hondius, based on the 1634 map by Johannes Blaeu. The map depicts the region from the Aegean Sea and some of the Aegean Islands to the Euphrates River and from the Black Sea to Cyprus and the Mediterranean Sea. Beautifully detailed, several important towns, cities, rivers, and regional topography are noted. Mountains are beautifully rendered in profile. The important cities of Constantinople (Istanbul), Smyrna (Izmir), and Antioch are identified.

The Ottoman Empire, at its peak, controlled the entire region during this period, with Constantinople as its capital. In the middle part of the 17th century, after its period of growth, the Ottoman Empire would enter a period of gradual decline and stagnation.

A beautifully illustrated sea battle in the Mediterranean depicts one of the many naval battles fought by the Ottomans. Another illustration of a sea monster is also featured in the bottom right quadrant. A beautifully engraved title banner adorns the top of the map, with a scale depicted in the bottom right quadrant.

This map was issued by Petrus Schenk and Gerard Valk c. 1708.

CartographerS


Petrus Schenk (Pieter Schenck) the Elder (December 26, 1660 - 1711) was a Dutch engraver, globe maker, and map publisher active in Amsterdam and Leipzig in the latter half of the 17th century. Schenk, was born in Elberfield, Germany. He moved in Amsterdam in 1675, becoming the apprentice to Gerard Valk (Valck). In 1687, Schenk married Agatha Valk, Gerard Valk's sister and went into partnership with his brother-in-law under the imprint of 'Valk and Schenk'. Initially they focused on maps and atlases, acquiring the map plates of Jan Jansson and Jodocus Hondius in 1694. Later, in 1701 they moved into the former Hondius offices where they began producing globes. Valk and Schenk quickly became known for producing the best globes in the Netherlands, a business on which they held a near monopoly for nearly 50 years. Schenk's three sons, Pieter Schenk the Younger, Jan Schenk, and Leonard Schenk, all became engravers in their own right. Pieter Schenk the Younger inherited the business and ran his father's shop in Leipzig. His daughter, Maria Schenk, married Leonard Valk, the son of Gerard Valk, and continued to run the Valk and Schenk map engraving workshop in Amsterdam. More by this mapmaker...


Gerard Valk (September 30, 1652 - October 21, 1726) (aka. Valck, Walck, Valcke), was a Dutch engraver, globe maker, and map publisher active in Amsterdam in the latter half of the 17th century and early 18th century. Valk was born in Amsterdam where his father, Leendert Gerritsz, was a silversmith. He studied mathematics, navigation, and cartography under Pieter Maasz Smit. Valk and moved to London in 1673, where he studied engraving under Abraham Blooteling (or Bloteling) (1634 - 1690), whose sister he married, and later worked for the map sellers Christopher Browne and David Loggan. Valke and Blooteling returned to Amsterdam in 1680 and applied for a 15-year privilege, a kind of early copyright, from the States General, which was granted in 1684. In 1687, he established his own firm in Amsterdam in partnership with Petrus (Pieter) Schenk, who had just married his sister, Agata. They published under the imprint of Valk and Schenk. Also, curiously in the same year Valk acquired the home of Jochem Bormeester, also engraver and son-in-law of art dealer Clement De Jonghe. Initially Valk and Schenk focused on maps and atlases, acquiring the map plates of Jodocus Hondius and Jan Jansson in 1694. Later, in 1701 they moved into the former Hendrick Hondius (the younger) offices where they began producing globes. Valk and Schenk soon acquired the reputation of producing the finest globes in the Netherlands, a business on which they held a near monopoly for nearly 50 years. In 1702, Valk joined the Bookseller's Guild of which he was promptly elected head. Around the same time, Gerard introduced his son, Leonard, who was married to Maria Schenk, to the business. Leonard spearheaded the acquisition of the map plates of Frederick de Wit in 1709. Nonetheless, Leonard was nowhere near as sophisticated a cartographer or businessman as his father and ultimately, through neglect, lost much the firm's prestige. After his death, the firm was taken over by his widow Maria. Learn More...

Condition


Good. Light wear along original centerfold. Areas of infill and reinforcement along oxidized original green pigment on verso. Blank on verso. Wide margins.

References


OCLC 913080493.