Hereditas Antikvárium

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16. Könyvárverés

Paris, 1630.
A scarce, copper-engraved map of the “Promised Land” by Michaël von Eytzinger (Aitzinger). The sheet was first published in Cologne as a supplement to the author’s monograph “Terra Promissionis topographicae atque historice descripta”, published in 1583. Later, the printing plate came into the possession of Jacob Honervogt, who published it as a separate sheet as the second state of the engraving with his signature. The beautiful, finely detailed depiction, in addition to the cartography of the region between Sidon and Pelusium, also shows the Exodus, the main stages of the Jewish wanderings, and the location of the twelve tribes that settled in the Promised Land. The engraver used numerous small engraving vignettes to depict important events, so from the lower left corner – the Red Sea that destroyed the pharaoh’s horsemen – we can follow the milestones of the Old Testament migration: the fall of manna, Moses’ parting of the sea, the worship of the golden calf, the appearance of the stone tablets on Mount Sinai, the healings of the bronze serpent, and many other important events. Near the lower left corner of the map, a circular design surrounded by sunbeams can be seen with symbols from the Old and the New Testament as well as mysterious numbers and letters inside. Connected to the degree line on the right, a simple frame contains the cartographer’s dedication to the reader. The elegant title cartouche is located on the Black Sea area, next to it, the artist depicts a sea battle, where the name of Eytzinger can be read around the crest on the sail of the outermost ship of the group, with the motto “vela ventis” at the bottom.
Dimensions: 365 x 420 (420 x 510) mm. Fine, clear copy.
Laor, Eran: Maps of the Holy Land. Cartobibliography of Printed Maps, 1475-1900. (New York-Amsterdam, 1986.) 28.