Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (1650-1718) is one of the most influential Italian mapmakers and is known especially for his globes and atlases. The son of a tailor, Vincenzo was apprenticed to a xylographer (a wood block engraver) at a young age. At fifteen he became a novice in a Franciscan monastery. At sixteen he published his first book, the first of 140 publications he would write in his lifetime. The order recognized his intellectual ability and saw him educated in Venice and Rome. He earned a doctorate in theology, but also studied astronomy. By the late 1670s, he was working on geography and was commissioned to create a set of globes for the Duke of Parma. These globes were five feet in diameter. The Parma globes led to Coronelli being named theologian to the Duke and receiving a bigger commission, this one from Louis XIV of France. Coronelli moved to Paris for two years to construct the King’s huge globes, which are 12.5 feet in diameter and weigh 2 tons.
The globes for the French King led to a craze for Coronelli’s work and he traveled Europe making globes for the ultra-elite. By 1705, he had returned to Venice. There, he founded the first geographical society, the Accademia Cosmografica degli Argonauti and was named Cosmographer of the Republic of Venice. He died in 1718.
First edition of Nolin's rare 2 sheet map of southern Spain, published in Paris. Two title cartouches, with titles in French and Spanish, coats of arms, etc. Includes fantastic topographical detail. Later editions were issued until about 1760.
Rare early edition of Jean Baptiste Nolin's map of southern Spain, centered on Andalusia and Granada, published in Paris by Nolin, with a second address in Brussels (Jean Leonard). The map is exceptionally detailed and includes extensive topographical...
Rare 2-sheet map of Galicia, Asturias, etc., engraved by T. Rousseau for J.B. Nolin in Paris. The map extends from Santillana del Mar in Cantabria to Galicia. The text inset provides information on Galicia, Asturias and Biscaya. A fine large format...
Detailed map of Portugal and the Algarve, first published by Johann Baptist Homann in 1736. The map is colored by provinces, showing towns, rivers, mountains, harbors, roads, etc. Very large title cartouche with figures and a coat of arms.
Fine example of Nolin's map of Greece, first published in 1699. The map is divided into kingdoms, republics and provinces and includes a coat of arms and elaborate title cartouche.
Nice example of Nolin's scarce map of Asia. The map is the work of the remarkable collaboration between Venetian mapmaker Vincenzo Maria Coronelli and Jean Baptiste Nolin, who would later become the Royal Geographer under Louis XIV in 1701. The most...
First edition of this rare Jesuit map of China, published by Jean Baptiste Nolin in Paris. The map first appeared in 1686 in the present form, then was reissued without the text at the bottom of the map in Philippe Couplet's Tabula Chronologica...
