Map Ornamentation

The images below come from a Harvard Library exhibition from last year called: 'Going for Baroque - The Iconography of the Ornamental Map' [LINK]

"The ornamental features that may now seem little more than decorative embellishments once acted as richly nuanced symbols, analogies, and coded commentaries. This exhibit explores how decorative cartographic devices - cartouches, vignettes, figural borders, title pages, and frontispieces—could provide narrative underpinnings for the geospatial content of maps."

Note: the captions below are excerpted and you will find more information by visiting the exhibition site. Also, the names immediately below the images are the map publishers.

'Carte von Ertzgebürgischen Creysse in 

Churfurstenthum Sachssen' by Peter Schenk, 1758

"Schenk’s map of Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), situated on the border of Saxony and Bohemia, offers a graphic tribute to a region whose economic livelihood relied on the extraction of tin, silver, cobalt, lead, and other metals. [..]

The instruments at the top of the sheet provide reassurance about the accuracy of the cartographic content."

'Imperium Japonicum' by Adriaan Reelant, 1740

"Adriaan Reelant (Reland), professor of oriental languages at the University of Utrecht, created this map of Japan’s 66 provinces from a variety of sources [..]

In Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868), contact with Europeans was strictly limited to trade with the Dutch East India Company—and only through the port of Nagasaki. [..]

The cultural uniqueness of Japan is emphasized by the Sino-Japanese characters identifying the provinces, the noble crests (including the triple hollyhock flowers of the Tokugawa clan), and the images of the samurai, palanquin, and pagoda."

'Going for Baroque - Japan Map' [from Harvard College Library channel]

"In the seventeenth century, the Netherlands was actively engaged in exploration, colonization, and trade throughout all regions of the globe, and Dutch publishers were busy keeping up with a growing internal demand for travel accounts, illustrations, and maps. This map of Japan, published for the first time in 1715, shows one of Holland's newest commercial partners."

'Topographische Vorstellung der neuen russischen Haupt-Residenz 

und See-Stadt St. Petersburg' by Johann Baptist Homann, 1718

"When Homann published his map of St. Petersburg, this city on the shores of the Gulf of Finland was a work-in-progress, founded in 1703 by Tsar Peter I to open Russian access to Western Europe via the Baltic Sea. [..]

The cartouche represents a graphic apotheosis of Tsar Peter, whose portrait is surrounded by allegorical figures representing a broad range of the arts and sciences promoted during his reign - including geography, astronomy, history, mathematics, navigation, poetry, geometry, and engineering."

"This is one of the first published maps of St. Petersburg. The hexagonal Peter-Paul fortress is depicted at the center; the similarly fortified Admiralty is across and downriver from it. Vasilevskii Island (left), only just being settled at the time, shows the plan for its “regular” development drawn up for Peter the Great by the Swiss-Italian Domenico Trezzini (ca. 1670–1734), the first architect of St. Petersburg."

'Novissima Totius Terrarum Orbis Tabula' by Nicholas Visscher, 1690

"A double hemisphere world map invites graphic embellishments that take advantage of the sheet’s marginal curved spaces. Designers often responded to this challenge by including celestial charts or polar projections in the central sections. The other margins could serve as the arena for illustrating religious, cosmological, or astrological themes. [..]

The two figures at the intersection of the hemispheres represent the triumph of Christianity over pagan idolatry."

'America Novo Descriptio' by Nicholas Visscher, 1752

"[T]he views and figures are primarily drawn from Theodore de Bry’s illustrations in his collections of travel accounts. De Bry himself never set foot in the Americas, but he had access to numerous accounts by European travelers and explorers, including those acknowledged on the borders of the map: Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and four circumnavigators (Ferdinand Magellan, Francis Drake, Thomas Cavendish, and Olivier van Noort)."

('America Novo Descriptio' is modelled after earlier maps by Willem Blaeu and Pieter van der Keere)

'Carte de la Mer du Sud et de la Mer du Nord..' by Nicolas de Fer, 1713

"De Fer’s map of the Americas offers an iconographic feast of imagery for those trying to grasp the implications of European colonial intrusion into societies whose “otherness” was their most defining feature. The map seems to suggest both economic opportunities (resources to exploit) and cultural clashes (among peoples whose customs, rites, and mores were so vastly different). The decorative vignettes are adapted from illustrations in various accounts of the first European encounters in the New World."

(Herman Moll incorporated the scene with the beavers {the scene in the top left panel above, next to the corner panel}  in his 1715 map of North American British colonies)

'Plan tres exact et vüe de la ville, baye, et des nouvelles 

fortifications de Gibraltar..' by Albert C Suetter, 1760

"Spain formally recognized British rule of Gibraltar in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) but, throughout the 18th century, periodically sought to reassert its territorial claims. The cartouche presents a graphic argument for an end to hostilities by featuring Mercury with his caduceus (the staff of entwined serpents, which symbolized commerce) and a cornucopia (horn of plenty). Whatever is decided by the human arbiters of destiny, the sea (Neptune) will continue to determine the fate of ships sailing through the Pillars of Hercules."

'Nova et exacta tabula geographica Salae et Castellaniae Iprensis' 

by a member of one of the Hondius families of Flanders, 1663

"This carte-à-figures originally appeared in 'Flandria Illustrata' (1641-1644), a work by Antonius Sanderus, a theologian and historian whose descriptions of Flemish cities and towns are enlivened with numerous plans and views, including detailed depictions of monuments, abbeys, convents, and châteaux. [..]

This map of Ieper (Ypres) [..] celebrate[s] the rich architectural heritage of Flanders."

'Cambridgeshire' by John Speed, ~1610

"John Speed admitted that he borrowed liberally from other cartographers (or as he phrased it, “I have put my Sickle into other mens Corne and have laid my Building upon other mens Foundations”)

[F]or the ornamental features, [Speed] employed stylistic features that he particularly admired in Dutch mapmakers (including Jodocus Hondius, who engraved the plates)."

"Cambridgshire deſcribed with the deviſion of the hundreds, the Townes ſituation, with the Armes of the Colleges of that famous Vniuerſiti. And alſo the Armes of all ſuch Princes and noble men as haue heertofore borne the honorable tytles & dignities of the Earldome of Cambridg."

[the Cambridgeshire map above is one that I prepared earlier]

'Amsteldam' by Johannes de Ram, 1690

"When Johannes de Ram designed this map in the late 17th century, Amsterdam was the center of a global trading network and the wealthiest city in the world. De Ram takes great pains to emphasize the magnitude of the city’s achievements. [..]

The vignette of the busy harbor illustrates a city hosting sailing ships from every corner of the world. Accompanied by putti engaged with a plumb line, nautical charts, globe, compass, cross staff, and anchor, Mercury (instantly recognizable by his winged helmet and caduceus) symbolizes the commerce, efficiency, and spirit of adventure that made the Netherlands such a formidable maritime power."

'Le Globe Terrestre Représenté en Deux 

Plans-Hémisphères..' by Jean Baptiste Nolin, 1767

"Nolin’s world map [..is presented] in the context of a biblical narrative stretching back to the beginnings of the universe. [..]

The narrative panels conclude with the giving of thanks after the Ark settled atop Mount Ararat (prominently featured on the map southwest of the Black Sea)."

• 'Going for Baroque - The Iconography of the Ornamental Map' at Harvard College Library.
• Some very basic map ornament terminology.
• Previously: cartography.

IN: 'Art and Cartography: Six Historical Essays' 1987, edited by David Woodward.

Tractatus de Herbis

Codex Sloane 4016 is a 15th century Italian parchment manuscript belonging to a class of books known as herbals. These medicinal treatises recorded knowledge accumulated in the oral tradition about plants believed to possess therapeutic properties. See: one, two, three.

Miniature of plants and a demon - the herb Ypericon, supposed to repel demons

Miniature of a plant and boys standing in the branches of a fruit tree

picking fruit and throwing down to a woman standing below

Miniature of a tree, a spider web, and an eagle

Miniature of plants, including a mandrake plant with a naked male body as the root

Miniatures of plants, and a cat and mouse

Miniature of a lion, a leopard, a rabbit hare, and an elephant

Miniatures of plants, a braying donkey, and a map

Miniatures of plants, crabs, and [most likely] a lobster-like animal [versus a scorpion as captioned at the source site] (thanks ogerard)

Miniatures of a tree and a snake

Miniatures of a plant and a bird, holding a horseshoe in its mouth

Miniature of a plant, a cricket, a crane, and a salamander

Miniature of a tree and an animal castrating itself

Produced in Lombardy in Northern Italy in 1440, 'Tractatus de Herbis' consists of over two hundred beautifully illustrated pages accompanied by Latin commentary in a Gothic script.

The whole manuscript (Sloane 4016) is accessible online from the British Library; including enlarged detail images.

A facsimile edition of 'Tractatus de Herbis' is available from the Spanish manuscript reproduction firm of M Moleiro.

VIA: Medieval & Earlier Manuscripts Blog | Miniaturaitaliana.

Previously: flora/medieval.

Calligraphy Letterform Album

'Kalligraphische Schriftvorlagen' (calligraphic writing styles) was produced in the 1620s in Germany by the scribe, Johann Hering.



















































Johann Hering (?1580-1647) compiled his album of elaborate calligraphic letterforms, innovative type arrangements and traditional alphabets over a ten year period in the 1620s and 1630s in the Kulmbach region of Bavaria. (Or it was produced sometime during this time frame: it's not clear)

I tend to believe - and I may well be wrong - that Hering's album is more along the lines of a practice manuscript for himself rather than being a true copybook or modelbook* for educational purposes. The majority of the writing is in German (with occasional Latin) and many of the written pages are obviously copied from the bible, particularly the Book of Psalms.

[*Modelbooks: see here & here]

There is next to nothing by way of commentary online about either Hering's life or the background to his amazing album. He is simply described as a 'writing master'. A number of published books are attributed to Hering - most or all on the type/font arts - and one of his handwriting manuals was apparently republished in German in 1982 (although I didn't actually find much of a trail online).

• Johann Hering's 80-page 'Kalligraphische Schriftvorlagen' is regarded as one of the treasures of the Bamberg State Library (I think it has only recently been uploaded)
• Worldcat Identities entry.
• CERL Thesaurus entry.
• Worldcat entry for 'Das Schrift- und Kunstbüchlein' (1982 republication)
• Previously: calligraphy (something of a catch-all phrase, as are most of the thematic bookmarks at Delicious - that include post summaries - relating to the BibliOdyssey blog)
• Luc Devroye's giant page of calligraphy & type design resources.

Gods of the Ancients

'Images Depicting the Gods of the Ancients' by Vincenzo Cartari was first published in 1556. The engravings below are from a 1624 edition (in Italian).















































'Le Imagini De gli Dei de gli Antichi' by Vincenzo Cartari (with illustrations based on designs by Bolognino Zaltieri) was recently made available online via Wolfenbütteler Digitale Bibliothek.
[this is the 1664 edition, in the original Italian, with the woodcuts (that first appeared in the 3rd Ed.) replaced by engravings of modest artistic merit perhaps, yet possessing a not insignificant - continuing - contemporary influence].

Misteraitch, at the venerable (and retired) Giornale Nuovo, covered this book some years ago, displaying some woodcut scans from an earlier edition, and including some very useful commentary which is recommended; but I shan't repeat it here. The engravings above seem to be both reversed and modified from the original woodcut layouts.

Instead, as an adjunct, I'll paste in below the (complete and unaltered) translated commentary on Cartari's book from a rare book exhibition at the University of Navarra (in Spain) [LINK]:

"Mythological matter was one of the sources and themes used in literature and art of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, both in its more pagan and hedonistic as its symbolic and moralized version. The myths came to the sixteenth century by two ways: the deformed but very influential medieval transmission, and collected by his humanist philological recovery of ancient texts and testimonies.

One of the works that contributed to the systematization and dissemination of this rich heritage throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was the work of Italian poet Vincenzo Cartari 'I Imagini Antichi degli degli Dei, nelli cualisono degli Antichi descritte religione him, riti e parrot ceremony with di molto agiunta principalia l'e con l'Imagini Esposizione in epilogue di suo ciascheduna and significance'.

Cartari, of which little else is known other than it was in the service of the house of Este, is known almost exclusively for this work and a versified translation of the Tuscan in meters Fasti of Ovid published in Venice in 1551.

The book is divided into 15 chapters, each of which is one of the main gods and lesser gods and heroes in some way related to it. The subject of each chapter comes from the texts of ancient poets translated by Cartari as Italian poems.

The cause of the success of the work was in addition to its originality in presentation, the only of its kind available in a vulgar tongue. This success was further increased from the 1571 Venetian edition by Ziletti Giordani, who illustrated with 89 large woodcuts opened by Bolognino Zaltieri dimensions.

Samples of undoubted interest aroused by the book are the successive reprints of the original Italian and translations of it made into Latin and French Verdier in 1581.

The copy owned by the Library of the University of Navarra belongs to the first edition of this Latin translation published in Lyon in July Guichard, Barthelemy Honorat and Michel Etienne. The engravings with which it is illustrated are very similar to those of Zaltieri, but sometimes are smaller and are often printed in mirror."

• The University of Mannheim has what appears to be a 1581 Latin edition of the 'Gods of the Ancients' (click 'Titel...' for thumbs) -- these are a more sophisticated digital rendering of the original woodcut illustrations, I'd say. It's also probably a more reliable legend for distinguishing Gods in the images above than I might otherwise fumble to misconfabulate.
• Wikipedia has a small entry for Vincenzo Cartari.
• But again, I recommend reading the entry at Giornale Nuovo for salient background information.
• Follow along at Twitter, if you are so inclined: @BibliOdyssey
• ADDIT (Dec. 2012) 'Neu-eröffneter Götzen-Tempel' at U Heidelberg (I'm pretty sure this is the German version of the 'Gods of the Ancients' (images aren't as good quality as those above to my mind).

Stripping Turtles

The very rare, 2-volume series, 'Anatome Testudinis Europaeae', by LH Bojanus was published in 1819-1821 (in Latin), and includes 39 stipple engravings by F Lehmann after drawings by the author.

[The images below have been cropped and background cleaned]

Following completion of his medical training in Germany, Ludwig Heinrich (Louis Henri) Bojanus (1776-1827) somehow obtained a position at the University of Vilnius (Lithuania) as a professor of veterinary science.

Bojanus eventually specialised in comparative anatomy, an emerging discipline - originally steeped in philosophy - that had been championed by contemporary German thinker-polymaths such as Goethe, Lorenz Oken* and Johann Baptist von Spix*.

"[At] the University of Vilnius, Bojanus became the chairman of the school of “livestock medicine.” He was the first to describe the organ of secretion (kidney) of the lamellibranchia mollusk (Bojanus organ), but he erroneously identified it as the lung.

He studied equine anatomy and embryology and contagious animal diseases (anthrax, plague, and others). He established zoological and zootomical departments at the University of Vilnius, created the first helminthological collection in Russia, developed a curriculum, and introduced a program of veterinary studies. Bojanus’ basic works were in embryology, zoology, medicine, veterinary science, and zootechnology." [source]

Bojanus published a wide variety of scientific papers and was an Honorary Member of the Swedish Scientific Academy, but it was the turtle anatomy set that was his most famous publication and these volumes are still cited as primary sources.

• The two volumes of 'Anatome Testudinis Europaeae' by Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus (1819-1821) are available from the fabulous Biodiversity Heritage Library (from Harvard University).
• The Bojanus turtle anatomy volumes at the Internet Archive.
• At least Vol. 1 is available from the AnimalBase at SUB Göttingen (I think they are presently digitising Vol. 2).
• I noticed in passing that the 2-volume set - "not in good condition" - was selling for more than $US8000. I also saw mention of a reissue of the set in the early 20th century, but I've not been able to find a copy of the books in English.
• A short Bojanus biography at Wikipedia.
• A paperback edition of 'Anatome Testudinis Europaeae' is available from Amazon.
• Previously: The Embryology of Turtles ::: Turtle Diary.