Italy - Italy; Seutter, Georg Matthaus (1678-1757) - Nova totius Italiae cum adjacentibus majoribus ... - 1721-1750

This image shows a historical map of the Italian peninsula, titled Nova totius Italiae cum adjacentibus majoribus et minorib. insulis accuratiss. delineatio, created by the famous German cartographer Matthäus Seutter and published in the mid-18th century (around 1740-1750) in Augsburg (Augusta). The map was subsequently printed or distributed also by its publisher and brother-in-law Tobias Conrad Lotter.

Main features of the work
• Decorative cartouche: at the bottom left is a rich Baroque-style cartouche populated by allegorical figures and classical deities (notable attributes related to abundance, navigation, and Roman history) surrounding the title of the work in Latin.
• Political divisions: the map uses a vivid contemporaneous coloring of borders and territories to distinguish the various fragmented states that composed Italy before unification, such as the Papal States, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Venice, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the Kingdom of Naples.
• Millimetric scales: in the top right corner, enclosed in a more geometric and linear frame, is the quadrant dedicated to the graphic scales of distances (Scale), expressed in various units used at the time (gallic miles, Italian miles, etc.).

Compass rose: at the bottom right, in the waters of the Ionian Sea (Mare Ionium), stands a refined eight-point decorative compass rose that serves as a geographic orientation for navigation.

The map originally comes from one of the editions of its famous Atlas Minor. However, this particular small-format print is a later reissue, as clearly indicated by the typographic note placed at the center of the lower margin: "Ansero im Verlag bey T. C. Lotter, Geogr. in Augsburg". Seutter’s workshop, located in Augsburg, was indeed inherited and carried on by his son-in-law, the engraver and geographer Tobias Conrad Lotter.

Main features of the work
• Allegorical cartouche: at the bottom left stands a rich decorative cartouche in Baroque style, supported by mythological figures, within which the full Latin title and the attribution to Matthäus Seutter are inscribed.
• Period coloring: the territories and historic provinces of France are highlighted with a vivid and accurate hand-coloring, typical of 18th-century Germanic-area prints.
• Geographic details: despite the pocket-sized format (from a pocket atlas or minor), the map shows with notable precision the rivers, coastal mountain ranges, and the main urban centers of the era.

SEUTTER, Georg Matthaus (1678-1757). Atlas Minor praecipua Orbis terrarum Imperia, Regna et Provincias Germania. Augsburg: Seutter,

A.C. Seutter delin. Andr. Silbereisen Sculps. (to accompany) Atlas minor praecipua orbis terrarum imperia.
by Seutter, Matthaeus, 1678-1756; Weyerman, Jacob Christoph; Seutter, Albrecht Carl, 1722-1762; Silbereisen, Andreas, 1673-1766

Print size: 19.5 x 25.5 cm at the marginal line, page size 21.5 x 27.5 cm

Not shipped to the United States.