Friday, January 27, 2006

The People of the World in 1723

Wien (Vienna), Austria

Kanton (Canton - Guangzhou), China

Macassar, Indonesia

Pernambuco, Brazil

Potosi, Peru

Suratte, Mongolia

Callao de Lima, Peru

Havana, Cuba
[larger jpeg at NYPL]

Archangel, Russia

Benin, Africa

Coichin (Cochin), India

Pieter van der Aa was a prolific publisher and very well known for his maps. They weren't originals but they had the reputation for being very decorative. [some examples]

In 1723 he published a 27 volume series called La Galerie Agréable du Monde which is said to have a huge number of engraved maps and illustrations. The plates were engraved by about 25 artists - principal being Aldert Meyer. It would appear that the material in this set was also copied, Meyer having illustrated a costume book in ~1700. That's all the information I could find on the internet.

The International Institute for Economic History have 23 plates from La Galerie Agréable du Monde.

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