Cherbourg – Antique Hand-Coloured French Coastal Town Engraving (1666)

City and Harbour of Rhodes – Olfert Dapper, 1688 Hand-Coloured Engraving Description: This historical hand-coloured copperplate engraving, titled “De hedendaegsche Stad en Haven van...

Caen – Antique Hand-Coloured Normandy Town Plan Engraving (1666) This 17th-century copper engraving offers a finely detailed early plan of Caen, published in Antwerp in 1666 for the...

Antique map titled 'Staveren'. Original antique map of the city of Stavoren, Friesland, The Netherlands. This map originates from 'Novum Ac Magnum Theatrum Urbium Belgicae Liberae Ac...

Antique map titled 'Staveren'. Original antique map of the city of Stavoren, Friesland, The Netherlands. This map originates from 'Toonneel der Steden van de Vereenighde Nederlanden'...

The ancient city of Saint Malo in North Western France has long been associated with adventure on the high seas, piracy and exploration. It was the birthplace of several important in...

A map of Nieuwpoort, anglicised to 'Newport', in northern Belgium. There is a panorama in the upper quarter depicting major landmarks. Below is a plan of the town, including its strong defences and ships at the port in the lower register. Inscribed with the title in plate to the lower edge, 'Newport a Strong Sea-Port Town...

This is a 16th century original hand-colored copperplate engraved map of a bird's-eye View of Embden, Germany entitled " Emuda, vulgo Embden vrbs Frisia orientalis primaria" by Georg Braun & Franz Hogenberg, in volume II of their famous city atlas "Civitates Orbis Terrarum", published in Cologne, Germany in 1575. This is a beautifully colored and detailed map of Emden, a seaport in northwestern Germany, along the Ems River and perhaps portions of over Dollart Bay, near the border with the Netherland. The map depicts a bird's-eye view of the city from the southwest, as well as a view of the harbor and an extensive system of canals. Numerous ships of various sizes, as well as two rowboats containing numerous occupants are seen in the main waterway in the foreground and additional boats line two canals in the center of the city. Two men and two women are shown on a hill in the foreground on the right, dressed in the 16th century style of nobility. Two ornate crests are included in each corner. A title strap-work cartouche is in the upper center with the title in Latin. The crest on the right including Engelke up de Muer (The Little Angel on the Wall) was granted by Emperor Maximilian I in 1495. This is an English translation of an excerpt of Braun's description of Embden: "In Emden, the capital of East Frisia, rich merchants live in very fine houses. The city has a broad and well-situated harbour, which in my opinion is unique in Holland. Frisia and the whole of the Netherlands, for the ships can anchor here right under the city walls. They have also extended the harbour as far as the New Town, so that up to 400 ships can now find shelter here when the sea is rough." The emphasis on the harbor and waterways within the city highlights the importance of Emden's place as a seaport at this time. Embden developed from a Dutch/Flemish trading settlement in the 7th-8th centuries into a city as late as late 14th century. In 1494 it was granted staple rights, and in 1536 the harbour was extended. In the mid-16th century Emden's port was thought to have the most ships in Europe. Its population then was about 5,000, rising to 15,000 by the end of the 16th century. The Ems River flowed directly under the city walls, but its course was changed in the 17th century by the construction of a canal. Emden has canals within its city limits, a typical feature of Dutch towns, which also enabled the extension of the harbor. In 1744 Emden was annexed by Prussia and is now part of Germany. It was captured by French forces in 1757 during the Seven Years' War, but recaptured by Anglo-German forces in 1758. During the Napoleonic French era, Emden and the surrounding lands of East Frisia were part of the short-lived Kingdom of Holland. References:Van der Krogt 4, 1230, State 2; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg...

This map of Embdena is an original etching realized by George Braun and Franz Hogenberg in the Late 16th Century, as part of the famous Series "Civitates Orbis Terrarum" (Atlas of t...