400-year-old map collection for sale
An antique map depicting an Iceland complete with erupting volcano and surrounded by an array of monsters, is among a collection of exquisite works up to 400 years old which are to go on sale.
By
Nigel Bunyan
Last Updated: 10:07PM GMT 13 Mar 2009
The work, Islandia, was published by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp in the 16th century. It carries a price tag of £7,500 and is among a catalogue valued at nearly £3 million.
The sale includes a globe by Mattaeus Greuter, produced in 1632 and priced at £90,000, and a decorate double-hemisphere map of the world by John Speed.
The latter was first published in London in 1627 and is the earliest world map to show the misconception of California as an island. It is on sale for £12,800.
Another featured map is one of the moon, prepared in the 1720s by the astronomer, geographer, mathematician and physicist, Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr. It bears a price tag of £1,500.
The gallery recently secured £2,400 for a map of the North Pole produced by Gerard Mercator in 1595. It includes inset maps in each corner, one of which shows the mythical island of Frisland.
Collector Jonathan Potter, who is selling the maps, began to assemble them almost 40 years ago, after first becoming interested during visits to the market stalls of London's Portobello Road.
Gradually, his hobby became his business and he went on to establish a gallery that houses one of the largest collections of antique maps in the world.
All are now available for sale - together with the dealership - as Mr Potter, 58, prepares to retire to Bath, Somerset.
Article & photos here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/artsales/4986559/400-year-old-map-collection-for-sale.html
