Code: 56295
Date: Circa 1690
Copper engraving with original outline hand colouring, this map was published shortly after the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688 brought William of Orange and his wife, Mary Stuart, to the thrones of England as joint monarchs William III and Mary II. Overall sheet size: 61.1cms x 51.4cms; image size: 592mm x 503mm. Faint browning mottling the blank areas; bottom margin trimmed to neatline and some nicks into the neatline (see magnified image); old rectangle of paper at bottom of centrefold 125mm x 103mm.
This map was separately published and only appears in composite Dutch atlases (there is a number 6 on the verso so that is probably the case here ). Rare. Carel Allard’s British Isles map is one of the most striking of its time, with two richly decorated and symbolic cartouches. To the right, the title panel is surmounted by twin likenesses of William III and his wife Mary against a background of the accoutrements of war. The map may well have been prepared shortly after their accession to the English throne in 1689 when Anglo-Dutch ties were particularly close. The coat of arms above the portraits is still in Stuart form; below, there is an elaborate anagram of ‘W’ and ‘M’ and the figure of Neptune and his attendants. To the left a sunlit orb is encircled by the Garter, with supporters representing the four continents. Two vignettes of naval engagements are engraved in the lower part of the map...After the death of Mary in December 1694 Allard realised that the map, with its twin royal portraits was obsolete. He therefore engaged the engraver Lauwerens Scherm to rework the plate and make substantial changes. This second state looks very different and the cartouches are markedly less elaborate and all the ships erased. Copper engraving
Bottom of map is the Publication details (t’Amsterdam by Carolus Allard op den Dam met Privilegie vande Edele Groot Mogende Heeren Staten van Holland en Wetvriesland).
SHIRLEY: British Isles 1650-1750, Allard 4, state 1, states 1 & 2 illustrated.
