La parte Occidentale dell'Antico e Nuovo Messico con la Florida e òa Bassa Lunigiana delineata sulle ultime osservazioni -

- FIRST EDITION, CONTEMPORARY OUTLINE COLOUR -

The Italian painter and engraver, Giovanni Maria Cassini, produced this splendid map of Mexico in 2 shhets, as part of his epic three-volume atlas.

Striking full original color example of Cassini's map of California, Arizona, New Mexico, part of Texas, Baja California and Mexico (west part) and of the Southeast Part of the US, Central America, Cuba and the Jamaica (east part).

This is perhaps the only 18th Century map of the region to feature a decorative cartouche and vignette. The Rio Grande extends North to Taos & Santa Fe. The Colorado is shown, with the Gila more or less properly located. The Yuma, Cocomaricopa and Apache Indian Tribes are located, as are many settlements in Arizona and New Mexico. San Diego, Santa Catarina (Catalina), San Petro (Pedro), and the Channel Islands, are shown, along with S. Carlos (San Francisco Bay?). The Missions in Lower California, Arizona and New Mexico are shown. In Texas, Loreto, S. Antonio de Bexar, Texas, S. Sabas, S. Pablo and Loos are named, and a fair amount of the West Texas River system is shown, albeit largely conjectural.

Florida is shown as an Archipelago. A number of place names appear in Texas. Interesting detail throughout. Marvelous cartouche shows the Spanish Conquistadors approaching a village of Native Americans.

Cassini's Atlas is one of the last great decorative works and maps from this atlas are now rare on the market.

Published in: Nuovo atlante geografico universale delineato sulle ultime osservazioni. Roma, Calcografia camerale, 1792-1801.

Cassini was geographer and cartographer but he was also good at engraving architectural items and perspectives – he was one of the best disciples Giovanni Battista Piranesi had. Moreover, Cassini was one of the last artists to engrave spheres in the XVIII century and his globes were quite famous and widespread, and realized the most important Italian Atlas of the XVIII century; his maps always bear a cartouche, extremely rich in colours and details.

Copperplate with fine original hand colour, some foxing, otherwise in very good condition. Size 370x500 mm each.

The Cassini's Atlas was reprinted by the Calcografia Camerale in the first quarter of XIXth century (before 1839). Only the first edition of the atlas is printed on contemporary laid paper, while the late issue are on XIXth century paper and often without colour.