Historic Urban Plans, Inc.

12/10/2024

Here's a rare one from our archives: an unrecorded, late variant the Hondius world map, published by Francis Jollain circa 1671-73, with scientific border decorations adapted from Boisseau's map of 1636. The map is full of fascinating geography, including the newly discovered Le Maire Strait, a St. Lawrence River that spans most of North America, Korea as an island, and a massive southern continent.

10/30/2024

10/23/2024

Matthias Seutter's map of colonial North America (ca. 1730) sneaks some social commentary on the so-called Mississippi Bubble investment scheme into its stunning and elaborate title cartouche. Drawn by Gottfried Rogg and engraved by M. Rhein, it shows a precariously perched Fortuna pouring jewels and riches forth, while cherubs issue worthless stock and blow symbolic bubbles. Disconsolate investors try to fling themselves from trees and impale themselves on swords. It's a grimly satirical scene, all the more striking in this vibrant color example from our archives.

08/30/2024

Among the many treasures in Auction 199 is an early impression of one of the most sought-after maps of the Emerald Isle, John Speed's The Kingdome of Irland (Lot 399). It shows the traditional dress of three tiers of Irish society: the "Gentleman" and "Gentlewoman," the "Civill" folk, and the "Wilde" ones.

07/17/2024

First published in 1578 in Gerard de Jode's Speculum Orbis Terrarum, this very rare map covers India, China, and Southeast Asia. Based on Gastaldi's 1559 map of Asia and Jesuit sources based in China, the map features cartographic quirks like a shrunken Borneo, the mythical "Cayamay Lago," and a simplified diagonal Chinese coast.

07/11/2024

When it was first published in 1656, Sanson's Audience de Guadalajara Nouveau Mexique, Californie, &c.introduced the so-called second Sanson model of California as an island.

06/03/2024

This unusual map traces the legendary Aztec pilgrimage route from Aztlan to Chapultepec, here depicted as a hill mounted by a giant grasshopper. It was published in 1704 in an English translation of the exploits of famed Italian adventurer Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri. We're excited to list this map for the first time in our upcoming auction, which kicks off this Wednesday, June 5th!

05/25/2024

Today is the anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, and to celebrate we're highlighting an early derivative of John Smith's map of Virginia, published by Matthaus Merian just 20 years after the settlement was established. The map shows several explorations and observations made by Smith and the Jamestown settlers. Its information on the locations of the Indian tribes and villages is so extensive that it's still used by modern archaeologists.

05/23/2024

Theodore de Bry's landmark map of the East Indies (ca. 1598) was based on the suppressed map of Willem Lodewijcksz. Lodewijcksz accompanied Cornelis de Houten on the first Dutch voyage to the Spice Islands (1595-97). His chart of the expedition was quickly censored by Dutch merchants who feared that sharing the cartographic knowledge would jeopardize their trade opportunities. De Bry published his adaptation of the chart in the Petits Voyages; it is rarely seen on the market today.